Jesus & The Law Series

INTRODUCTION

We are busy with a series on “The Sermon on the Mount”.

We are at part 4 of the series this morning, called Jesus and the Law.

We already looked at the content and theme of the sermon, being “The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven”

We already looked at the beatitudes, where Jesus showed us what character we as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven should portray as well as the blessings we can expect as a result thereof.

Then last week we looked at our relationship towards the world, where Jesus compared us and our relationship to the world to salt & light.

We are there to make the world bearable for God and the people.

We are there to preserve God’s morality.

We are there to shine in such a way that people see Jesus in and through us.

And we need to radiate Him wherever we are and go.

So lets’ start this morning by looking at the fourth part of the series, Jesus & the Law.

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 5:17-19 NASB (New American Standard Bible)

17"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Let us pray

SERMON

Introduction

Laws are set in place to govern people and situations.

It usually comes in two forms

• Something that you are not allowed doing.

• Something that you are obligated to do.

Also, a law has to have a consequence if it is not abided.

If you are not allowed to do something and you do it then there should be a consequence.

Otherwise the law will be useless.

If I tell my child that he is not allowed to play Xbox after 10 at night and he does this, then there needs to be a consequence, otherwise it is off no use.

What will happen if my son plays Xbox after 10 and I catch him?

If there is no consequence in place, nothing and then he will keep doing it despite my objections.

But if I place a consequence on the disobeying of my rule and take away his Xbox in totality for a week, then, the next time he will think twice before playing Xbox after 10 at night.

But the fact is that some laws are ridiculous.

Laws are sometimes set in place to benefit a certain person or group of people, whiles the other person or group of people are affected negatively.

We can think of the apartheid law and more recently, the BEE law.

Laws are sometimes changed to benefit a particular person or group of persons or institution.

In the end we can say the following:

Law is not perfect

Strange Laws from around the world

So to star things off this morning I would like to give you some weird and ridiculous laws from around the world.

• Israel

Picking your nose on the Sabbath is illegal. This law only applies to Jews and is enforced by the Rabbis. It is not so much because it is disgusting. It has to do with the possibility that the noise might start to bleed when you are picking it, thus violating the religious code of sanctity.

• France

No pig is allowed to be called Napoleon. This is because of their respect for the French General Napoleon Bonaparte. George Orwell wrote a short story called Animal Farm in which a pig, representing Stalin, was named Napoleon. This sparked this law and in France the pig in the story is called Caesar, in stad of Napoleon, by many people.

• Minnesota, USA

It is against the law to hang female and male underwear together on the same washing line.

• Japan

It is illegal to be overweight. There is even a minimum waist measurement. This is a very strange law as Japan brought us sumo wrestling. However, there is no punishment for individuals and is more geared towards putting pressure on the local governments and companies.

• Victoria, Australia

Only a qualified, licensed electrician is permitted to change a light bulb. If you defy this law you could be given up to a A$10 fine.

• Denmark

You may not be charged for food at a restaurant unless, by your own account, you are full.

• England

It is illegal to die in parliament. Apparently this law is no longer in effect. However, this entailed that, if you were in parliament, you were not allowed to die. If you looked a bit sick would you be taken out of Parliament? This had to do with the fact that if you died in Parliament you had to be given a state funeral.