Around 8:30 pm on October 8th 1871, a fire broke out in a small barn in Chicago.
Within a few hours it became one of the most devastating fires in American history.
Over 2.5 square miles were totally destroyed.
17,000 structures
Around 300 lives lost
1000,000 left homeless, which at the time, was almost 1/3 of the population of Chicago.
It became known as the Great Chicago Fire.
Hang on to that for a few minutes...
A couple of weeks ago, Lisa and I engaged in a conversation about tithing, and how some people believe that was something that ended when the New Covenant was ushered in.
That concept began tumbling around in my head for several days.
A couple of days after that conversation, I told Lisa I still haven’t heard a word from God about today’s message.
The next day, God indeed put a word on my heart.
A different direction
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I think God put a word on my heart for one reason, but as I pray, study and begin writing, the real reason is revealed.
Today’s word is such and example.
I thought it was a word about tithing, but actually a much broader and deeper than that.
I’m going to be very venerable with you right now, but it also revealed to me, that I have not moved from pure milk to solid meat, but rather pure milk to pudding.
Not quite to solid meat yet, in my sanctification process!
This process is definitely at God’s pace, not mine.
During my prep time, Satan has sure tried his best to plant seeds of doubt, which has so much more strengthened my resolve to see this through.
BODY
The 4 verses in today’s passage set the tone for the entirety of remainder of Jesus’ ministry on earth.
It is a dense paragraph like a thick rib eye!
Matthew 5:17-20 stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
The 16 verses prior to this passage, we see Jesus:
Jesus’ first major discourse or sermon, which is considered by most, His greatest and most important sermon.
Present the Beatitudes where He depicts the ideal picture of the life of the society which He came to establish. v 3-10
Followed by “salt and light” which describes the ideal characteristics of His followers-the position or stance, if you will, that His followers should hold. v 11-16
v 17-20 Jesus begins to teach why He came to earth.
Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
Jesus explains that He came to interpret the Torah (the 1st 5 books of the OT), correctly.
We will see in the following 3 verses, that He is outright claiming that the scribes and Pharisees have distorted the Law to serve their own greed and desire for power.
In the Mosaic Law there are 613 rules that feel into 3 categories:
Ceremonial
Civil
Moral
Hopefully, we will be able to unbox those as they relate to Jesus’ sermon on the Mount, at another time.
The religious leaders for over 1000 years had been interpreting the Law to their benefit.
The common man during Jesus’ time could not read Hebrew, so they relied on the scribes and Pharisees to interpret the Law.
Although we won’t dig into verses 21-38, there are 5 times Jesus says:
“You have heard it said” (meaning “you haven’t read this for yourselves”)
“You have heard it said” but “I say”, then He goes on to explain the real meaning of the Law.
His intent was to bring God’s Law (His Word) back to it’s original purpose.
Quick examination of two words in this verse:
Abolish- the Greek transliteration is “dismantle” or “tear down”
The Greek transliteration for fulfill is- “to render full or complete”
I did not come to dismantle the Law, but rather to render it full and complete the Prophets words.
That’s powerful, y’all!
When I was growing up, my grandparents had many sayings that I learned. I say learned, but in some instances, it was more like I memorized them because I heard them so much, but some; I did not understand.
My grandmother used to say “I don’t give one iota”. Any of your elders ever utter such a thing?
Matthew 5:18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
Ask others what does their bible say?
The Darby Bible says it like this: “Until the heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise, pass from the law till all come to pass”.
Iota is the smallest “mark” or “letter” in the Hebrew language, and a “tittle” is the smallest letter or mark in the Greek language.
Luke 16:17 “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.”
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
God’s word never fails, and it never ends.
Matthew 5:19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
I find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t say “won’t make it into heaven” but rather “will be the least” in heaven.
Ask others what does their bible say?
ESV-Therefore whoever relaxes on of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever “does” and “teaches” them.
I read this recently “As Christians, we are verbs in a world of nouns” (repeat)
Does and teaches are verbs y’all!
I was also drawn to these verses regarding being great in the Kingdom.
Verse 19, is as though Jesus is answering a question before it is ever asked.
Later, in Matthew 18, we see a question the disciples asked:
Matthew 18:1–5 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”
Jesus is saying, you must be:
Converted not only in your thinking (about the Law), but also converted in your heart, and become like little children, if not, not only will you not be great in the kingdom, you won’t be there at all!
Let’s look at verse 20 as opposed to verse 19
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Ask others what their bible says?
In this context, I believe the righteousness Jesus speaks of, is living in a right relationship with Him and others.
I mentioned the Mosaic Law was 613 rules, then there were reduced to 10 on a stone tablet, then Jesus reduces them to 2.
Check out Matthew 22:37–40 “Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.””
repeat Matthew 22:40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”” wow!!!
In it’s full content and context, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is His explanation of the standard of “righteousness” which the Law demanded.
By the time Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount, He had:
Been baptized
Called His disciples
Been to Galilee 2 or 3 times
Performed many miracles
Spoken to Nicodemus and the woman at the well
and worked on the Sabbath! Best I can tell,He argued with the Pharisees at least 4 times, about the Sabbath, before giving the SOM.
This is why He begins this passage by saying:
Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
He was saying He didn’t come to destroy the Law, but to realign it with Gods word!
He knew who His audience was in that crowd;
Along with His disciples were:
Common people: followers and curiosity seekers
Religious leaders
There are at least 8 recorded texts in scripture that tells us people plotted and tried to kill Jesus.
He knew He was stirring the pot when He gave the SOM.
I believe the whole bible is the unified story that leads to Jesus. The SOM is a huge validation of that belief!
As we close, I’d like to read the Amplified version of this passage.
Y’all probably thought I forgot to tell “the rest of the story of the Great Chicago Fire, but you were wrong!
Before the fire broke out on that Chicago night in 1871, DL Moody preached a sermon with about 2500 people in attendance.
He closed his sermon by challenging people to spend the week considering if and why they should accept Jesus as their Savior.
It is said that he spent the remainder of his life wondering how many people who attended that sermon, who died in the fire, that had not yet accepted Christ as Savior.
He never gave another sermon without an altar call.
Closing
If you haven’t accepted Christ as your Savior, because you are thinking about it, or maybe unsure of what that means, don’t put it off another minute, let’s talk about it today!
Say goodbye to online viewers.
Church, here’s my challenge to you today:
Understand why Jesus came. What law He has fulfilled, and what law remains to be fulfilled.
Here's my challenge to the challenge: When you leave this church building on Sunday, do you ever respond to the challenge I throw out there? Are they too simple to even invest or waste your time? Or are they more meat than your body, spirit, and mind can handle? Do I make the challenges understandable? I ask these questions because I need feedback. Pastor Jeff says "sheep and fish eat different food".
Am I trying to feed the wrong food?
I love you church, and I love taking this journey we call life, together with you!
