Shalom, my dear friends and dear brothers and sisters. We are going to continue with the study of the Gospel of Matthew. And we have arrived now to chapter 5. And the portion that I would like to read at this point of time is Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 to verse 48 to the end of the chapter. And of course, Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7 deal with the Sermon on the Mount, which our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah gave when He was here on earth before He died on a shameful cross. And this is the first of five of these special sermons that He gave, beloved brothers and sisters. And that Sermon on the Mount is one of the sermons that were given there on the mountain in the Galil while many followed after Him.

His disciples and others who followed after Him came to Him and He began to teach them. And He gave this first discourse called Sermon on the Mount. And we have covered the first 16 verses. And now we would read from verse 17 to 48. It is a long portion of the Word of God, but we will read it. And then we will make some comments on this portion of Matthew chapter 5. So if you have your Bible with you, please open it to Matthew 5 verse 17 to the end of the chapter. And Yeshua, the Messiah, is now continuing to speak as He is teaching this on the mountain in the Galil.

And He said in verse 17, Think not that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle, shall in no while pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Ye have heard that it was said, By them of all time thou shalt not kill, And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Rekah, Shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, And there remember that thy brother has ought against thee, Leave there thy gift before the altar, And go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, And then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him, Lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, And the judge deliver thee to the officer, And thou shalt be cast into prison.

Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence Till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of all time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her Hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eyes offend thee, Pluck it out, and cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee, That one of thy members should perish, And not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, Cut it off, and cast it from thee.

For it is profitable for thee, That one of thy members should perish, And not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, Let him give her a righting of divorcement. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, Saving for the cause of fornication, Causes her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her, That divorce committeth adultery. Again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, But shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath. But I say unto you, Swear not at all, Neither by heaven, For it is God's throne, Nor by the earth, For it is his footstool, Neither by Jerusalem, For it is the city of the great king.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, Because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay. For whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, And a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, Turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, And take away thy coat, Let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, Go with him twain.

Give to him that ask thee, And from him that would borrow of thee, Turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, And hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you, And persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father, Which is in heaven. For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, And send the throne on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, What reward have ye?

Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, What do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, Even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Well, beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters, I have read quite a few verses in Matthew chapter 5, Verses 17 to 48. And with the help of the Lord, I would like to present it as a portion of the scripture That really belong to one to another. From verse 17 all the way to verse 48 of Matthew chapter 5. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, Already when we have covered Matthew chapter 3. When our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah went down to the Jordan river, To identify with the godly people of Israel, Who wanted to be immersed by Yohanan HaMadbil, John the baptizer repenting and confessing their sins, To the very same locality came also the scribes and the Pharisees.

And they came to watch what was John the baptizer doing down in the south, While they were in the city of Jerusalem, In the temple where it was the center of worship, That God had set among his people Israel. But because of the spiritual condition of the children of Israel during those days, And especially the religious leaders who have interpreted the law that God had given to Israel on Mount Sinai, In a way in which the Judaism or the faith in the God of Israel became a works system, Rather than faith system that was given by God. And while God gave the law to Israel, He did not give the law to Israel in order to be saved or to be delivered and redeemed on the basis of the law.

But the law was given to God's people Israel in order to show them, And through Israel to all the world, That God is holy, And man is sinful, And because God's holiness demands perfection, And man's sinfulness could not attain this perfection, Man needs to be forgiven to receive forgiveness of sins, On the basis of the atonement which will be made through the blood of the sacrifice. And of course the sacrifice days of all pointed to the supreme sacrifice which the Messiah will accomplish when he would come to give himself as a ransom for many. And so we have studied in chapter 3 and we have seen that the Yohanan, the baptizer said to those that came, the Pharisees and the Sadducees in chapter 3 and verse 7, He said to them, Bring forth therefore fruit meat for repentance.

And think not to say within yourself, We have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is able out of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which bringeth not good fruit it is hewed down and cast into the fire. And he was challenging the spiritual leaders of Israel who by that time have developed a way or a system of approach to God that was a works system. And they have already began to have conflict with the Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, who came to Yohanan Hamadbil, John the baptizer, who was willing to identify in baptism with Jewish people, with his own people who repented and confessed their sins.

And he was baptized by John the baptizer. And when he came out of the water, the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove. And the voice that came from heaven from God the Father said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And so Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, came from heaven, the beloved Son of the Father. He came in order to provide redemption. And as Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah came, he had this constant conflict between himself, of course, and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the spiritual leaders of Israel in those days. And so multitude have followed Yeshua the Messiah as we have already learned from the fourth chapter.

If you remember, we did read verse 25 of the end of chapter 4. There followed him a great multitude of people from Galilee and from the Decapolis and from Jerusalem and from Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Jewish people who came outskirts of the nation of Israel. They came to the land and they began to follow. So the multitude followed after Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, from all over the land of Israel. And that produced a problem for the spiritual leaders of Israel. You see, beloved friend, the spiritual leaders of Israel, the Pharisees, they interpreted the law differently than the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, interpreted the commandments.

What is the meaning of the righteousness that the law demanded? So in this chapter, the fifth chapter, beloved brothers and sisters, while the Pharisees' interpretation of the law was that someone is not guilty until he or she are committing an act, and only after they're committing an outward act, then they are guilty. The Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, wanted to show Israel and to show all that in actuality, the law was much more demanded by God to be an external practices. But it's also God's holy law demands an internal change in the heart of those that sought to please the Lord. And so Jesus the Messiah will be, in these verses, presenting six examples which are contrasting his interpretation of what is righteousness, which the righteousness which the law demands, in contrast with the Pharisees' interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands.

In other words, the Pharisees' interpretation of the law was that one first have to do an act outwardly, externally, violating God's law in order to be declared guilty. While the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah is pointing here, in these verses that we read, verses 17 to 48 of Matthew chapter 5, He says that fulfilling the law is far more than just an external act, but it is an internal motive that comes from a heart that is truly broken before the Lord, before God, confessing that he or she cannot attain righteousness on their own. But they need the provision of God. And of course, beloved brothers and sisters, in every generation, God attributed righteousness to someone on a basis of faith, repentance, in confessing one's sin, and belief, in trusting God in his own provision.

As we read, as we read, prior to the law, in the days of Abraham, who said in Genesis 15 and verse 6, On a basis of faith, the law counted it for Abraham to be declared righteous, because Abraham trusted and believed in God and did not believe in his own ability to please God. During the law, during the law, the period of the law, David himself said, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. This is the psalm of David. This is the psalm of David, a maskil, psalm 32 and verses 1 and 2.

David said, Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord impute righteousness. In other words, not imputing iniquity, but imputing righteousness, on a basis of faith, and of course, in submissiveness, by offering a sacrifice, and blood was shed, which pointed to the coming of the Messiah in the fullness of the time. So let's, beloved brothers and sisters, look over these very, very interesting verses in Matthew 5, verses 17 to 48. So, as the Lord Jesus the Messiah continues now, on the mountain, in the Galil, the north of Israel, he continues now after he presented the qualities of true righteousness in chapter 5 and verses 1 to 16, where Jesus pointed to the blessedness of any who produce the righteousness that the Lord demanded with the help of the Spirit of God in submissiveness to God, not one's own righteousness, but the righteousness which God provides in the heart, producing a change in one's life.

Here, beloved brothers and sisters, in verses 17 to the end, Yeshua presents his own relationship to the law, and he presents before the multitude, the disciples and those that follow them, the meaning of true righteousness. So, we do read in verses 17, 18, 19, and 20, the Messiah, Yeshua, teaching about his own relationship to the law. While the Pharisees accused him, as if he did not want to acknowledge the Torah, the law that God gave to Israel, Yeshua the Messiah, responding to them through speaking to the multitude and the disciples that follow him, his very own relationship to the law. So, what he is really showing here in verses 17, 18, 19, and 20 of Matthew chapter 5, that he is elevating the Torah, the law, and the prophet, rather than diminishing from the Torah, from the law, and the prophet.

So, we read in verse 17 of our chapter 5, Yeshua is saying in verse 17, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. You see, the Pharisees were accusing Yeshua the Messiah by that time already, that he is really want to set aside the Torah. Beloved brothers and sisters and dear friend, the law, the Torah, the word of the Lord, remain the same in every generation. It changes not.

God's law, God's Torah never changes. The high requirement of God's holy requirement never changes. It remains the same. And the purpose of the Messiah Yeshua to come down to this world is to fulfill all that which the law and the prophets have declared to the people of Israel during the times which Israel received the law and which the prophets have ministered to the people of Israel. And so, what the law spoke of and what the prophets prophesied of concerning the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is presenting himself as the one that came to fulfill all that which the prophets of all and the law was giving in past days.

And so, in verse 17, Yeshua the Messiah came into the world not to destroy the law and not to destroy the prophecies but the opposite. The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, came to fulfill that which was given in days of old to the people of Israel which is including he is coming down to live his life, a perfect life, to die a substitutionary death, to be buried and to rise again for the justification of all those that will believe on him. And that's why he's saying think not that I'm come to destroy the law. Oh, and notice he doesn't stop with the law or the prophets, beloved brothers and sisters, from the law is from Genesis to Deuteronomy, the first five books that God gave to Moshe to write and he gave it to the nation of Israel.

This is the Torah. Torah, Nevi'im, the prophets, and Ketuvim. All the prophets, all the writings and all the law spoke about is a person that will come into this world to fulfill all that which God had in his heart for the benefit of mankind. So Yeshua, Jesus, he's saying don't think that I am come to destroy the law, he's saying to those who followed him to the Talmidim to the disciples and others that were listening to him. No, I didn't come to destroy the law nor the prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, all the prophets are from Isaiah to Malachi, to Malachi, the last prophet that was speaking to the people of Israel some 450 years prior to the coming of the Messiah.

The Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, is the fulfillment of all that which the law and the prophets wrote about. And so he said, I didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am come not to destroy but to fulfill. The word to fulfill here, beloved brothers and sisters, is to bring it to fruition. Beloved brothers and sisters, and dear friend, that is why the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, came. He came to fulfill. The Greek word in the Greek simply means to make full, to fill up, to cause, to abound, to furnish, to supply that which was promised in days of old, to complete, to render full.

That's what the meaning of the word in the Greek language. In the Hebrew it says lemalot. Lemalot means, again, to fulfill, to bring it to fruition. That's why the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, came. Lemalot to fulfill because God had promised that in the fullness of the time he will send the Messiah. In the fullness of the time God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law. Why? In order that he will redeem them which were under the law. You see, the fulfillment is the reason that the Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, came for. But unfortunately, the spiritual leaders of the day have interpreted the law that God had given prior to those days in a wrong way.

and Yeshua is giving a proper interpretation of what the law demanded. And we will see it as we are moving along that the Pharisees interpreted that someone must commit external act of violating the law before he is guilty. he or she are guilty. While the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, goes beyond it. It's not the act. But the act comes out of something that happened in the heart. and it's not external but it is internal. And so in verse 18 Yeshua continued and he said for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot that comes from the Hebrew word yud one yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet or one tittle tittle is one segment of the Hebrew letters.

So he's saying in verse 18 for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one yod or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. So not one little of the smallest Hebrew letter will pass away or one little part a segment of a Hebrew letter not one of these will pass away from the law before it will be fulfilled. In other words I have come to this world to fulfill the law to the letter and the prophet to the letter. I came to fulfill that which you could not fulfill because of your sin nature he is saying to us all to the Pharisees to the people who followed him to his disciples I came to fulfill not to destroy to fulfill that which the law and the prophets declared and not even one little letter or one portion segment of the Hebrew letter will pass before from the law until it will be fully fulfilled.

And beloved brothers and sisters why could only he fulfill the law to the letter because all of us beloved friends all of us have inherited a sin nature and the reason that the law and the prophets were given throughout the ages because God promised that he will ultimately send the redeemer the Messiah to this world so we who have sinned and turned against God will be able to be justified and to be declared righteous if we will only believe on the one and only one that could fulfill God's holy requirement and this is why beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters Yeshua the Messiah on that Sermon on the Mount he is teaching about his

very own relationship to God's law let me just remind you that it is God himself and of course we understand clearly as we read scripture that Yeshua the Messiah is the eternal son of God although we cannot fathom that in a human limited and sinful unfortunately nature yet here we read Exodus 20 in verse 1 and God spake all these words saying I am the Lord well who is that God who spoke you remember what the Hebrew writer said in Hebrews chapter 1 concerning the person of the son we read in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 God who at sundry time and in diverse manner spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets

as in these last days spoken unto us by son or son wise by his son whom he has appointed heir of all things by whom he made the worlds in other words God created the world in the person of his son God the son so the genesis 1 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth in exodus chapter 20 in verse 1 where we did read and God spake all these words saying it is none other but the person of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah God the son who became a man who saying now to his disciples think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets I am

not come to destroy but to fulfill for verily I said to you till heaven and earth pass one one one yod or one title shall in no wise pass from the law till it be fulfilled how wonderful to see that and so in verse 19 and verse 20 he continues he said who shall break and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven now beloved brothers and sisters we have to realize that once again to be reminded the church truth was not known when Yeshua the Messiah was presenting these to

the followers that followed him in the Galil and as far as Israel was concerned there was a promise that a kingdom will come and a king will come to rule and reign people of Israel and that kingdom is called the kingdom of heaven why because the king will come from heaven and that king will be the Messiah a descendant of David you will notice that throughout the gospel of Matthew we will find many times the expression son of David son of David why because the Messiah is the son of David and David was the one to whom God had promised a throne and a kingdom you remember in 2nd Samuel God promised that he will

give David a son in 2nd Samuel and in the gospel of Matthew you will find again the book of the generation of Yeshua the Messiah the son of David the son of Abraham Matthew 1 1 Matthew 1 20 and it says as the genealogy is being presented he is called the son of David chapter 9 of Matthew when Jesus departed then two blind men followed him crying saying thou son of David Ben David have mercy on us chapter chapter chapter 12 verse 23 chapter 15 of the gospel of Matthew verse 22 chapter 20 have mercy on us verse 30 oh lord thou son of David and you can go on and on throughout the gospel

of Matthew including Matthew 22 verse 42 saying what think ye of the Messiah whose son is he they said unto him the son of David Ben David so Yeshua is the one king that was promised to come and that's why it says here in verse 19 whosoever therefore break one of the least of this commandment and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the notice the kingdom of heaven malchut ha-shamayim why because God promised a kingdom to the people of Israel and that he will raise a king a descendant of David to sit on David throne as the prophet Daniel was mentioning in the interpretation of the dream concerning the kingdom

that will never have an end you remember beloved brothers and sisters in chapter 2 of the book of Daniel we do read in the interpretation of that a dream and Daniel have spoken concerning the kingdom that will never have an end wonderful future that is yet awaiting and in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all the kingdom this kingdom and it shall stand forever this is the kingdom that was promised by God to the people of Israel when the king a descendant of David will

come and rule and reign so in Israel during the time of the coming of the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah there was an anticipation by the Jewish people for the kingdom to be established and it is called Malchut Hashamayim the kingdom of heavens so notice what it says in verse 20 and notice how the Lord Jesus the Messiah is presenting the importance of true righteousness and he said in verse 20 this is the central verse of the whole sermon on the mount it is Matthew 5 and verse 20 for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom

of heaven once again the kingdom of heaven so Yeshua in verse 20 is saying to the disciples and all those that followed him and listened to what he was speaking here on the sermon on the mount in the north of Israel in the Galil he he saying to everyone I say to you except that your righteousness shall exceed notice then the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees ye shall in no case enter underline the word enter if you do not have a greater righteousness than the scribes and the Pharisees you shall in no case enter into the kingdom that is going to be established the kingdom of heaven that will be established here on

earth well how do one attain to a greater righteousness than the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees well as we have mentioned this once and we will mention this again that in these verses Jesus the Messiah presented his own relationship to the law and he is presenting his interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands in contrast with the Pharisees interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands the Pharisees says it is an external thing to do the Lord Yeshua the Messiah says no it is far more than just outward but it is an inward condition of the heart notice what later on he will say in Matthew chapter 15 verse 1 2 and

3 then came to Yeshua scribes and Pharisees which were in Jerusalem saying why do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders for they wash not their hands when they eat bread but he answered and said unto them why do you also transgress the commandments of God by your traditions you see there were many traditions of the elders that were added during the time between the book of Malachi and the time of the coming of the Messiah some 400 450 years between the last prophet of Israel who prophesied concerning the coming of the Messiah and when John the baptizer came and presented himself and challenged everyone to come and to repent to be baptized and

to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand the Messiah was coming the Messiah was coming well beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends here the Lord Jesus the Messiah presented this before the disciples and his followers that they must have a greater righteousness than the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was an external righteousness outward righteousness which has included traditions that have been added by the elders and the righteousness that God demanded in the law is the righteousness that came by repentance and receiving forgiveness and accepting the sacrifices which were offered that pointed to the Messiah and that produces a change in the heart

which helps one to be led in such a way that he or she will live life that will be pleasing to the Lord of course sadly in these days throughout church history there are also various traditions of elders in church age that have been added to the word of the Lord which causes one to think and assume that he or she are justified before God because of the works that they are doing and yet the apostles is clearly teaching us that by the works of the law or any law shall no flesh be justified and so beloved brothers and sisters the Pharisees interpreted the law the law demanded the demands of the law that it

was as simply only by an act that one does that then he become guilty while the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah said that the law really is teaching that it's not only the mere act that one does that makes him guilty before God but it is an internal condition of the heart and the Lord provided a way to receive forgiveness of sins and that was through the sacrifices which pointed to Yeshua the Messiah to the Redeemer that would come in the fullness of the time so now beloved brothers and sisters after we covered verses 17 18 19 and 20 where Yeshua Jesus the Messiah taught about his own relationship to the law that he did

not come to destroy the law or the prophet but to fulfill it and that he is the one that says until heaven and earth pass not even one smallest of the Hebrew letters and the smallest of the portion of any Hebrew letter all of these commandments and law that God gave in his word will be fulfilled and then he is saying whoever will break any of these commandments and teach them to others shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven and those who do them and teach them they will be great in the kingdom of heaven he is instructing now that the righteousness that one can and should have that will exceed the

righteousness of the scribe and the Pharisees is the righteousness which God has and will provide to those who believe on him and accept his way and submit to his authority they will enter into the kingdom of heaven that the Lord would have established had Israel accepted him as the Messiah but of course God knew that at the first coming of the Messiah Israel the nation will not accept him and the church age will come to fruition until the church will come to an end the church age that is and the rapture of the church will take place and God will resume his dealing with Israel and Israel the nation will ultimately be declared righteous when

they as a nation will come to believe in Yeshua Jesus the Messiah who fulfilled to the fullest the law that God gave to his people and so in the next verses verses 21 to 48 the Lord Jesus the Messiah presents six examples which are contrasting his interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands from the Pharisees interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands and those six examples are given to us from verse 21 to verse 48 of Matthew chapter 5 and we go over them in a way that it will just help us to see the distinction between what the Pharisees interpreted concerning the law and what Yeshua Jesus the Messiah interpretation of the

law of the Lord the first one of course is the law of murder which is taken from Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13 thou shall not murder in Hebrew lot tirzach and so this is verses 21 to verse 26 and I'm reading ye have heard that it was said by them of all time thou shall not murder and whosoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brothers reikah or empty shall be in danger of the council but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger

of hell fire therefore if thou bringest thy gift to the altar and they remember that thy brother has ought against thee leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother then come and offer thy gift agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer thou shall be cast into prison verily I said to thee thou shall by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing so in these verses beloved brothers and sisters verses 21 to 26 you can see the contrast

you have heard that it was said and of course he's quoting exodus 20 and verse 13 what the law said you shall not murder and the pharisees interpreted that if someone did not murder anybody he is not guilty but Yeshua the messiah gone beyond it he's elevating the law of God beloved brothers and sisters but I say unto you and he began to give a list even if you are angry with your brother without a call or if you say to your brother empty oh you are nothing you are empty or thou fool you are in danger of hell fire and it's challenging he says really we ought to the law really demand that we

will correct our relationship with one another so if even if your brother has something against you and you are going to come to offer a gift before God leave the gift before the altar go your way be reconciled with your brother and then you can come back to offer thy gift in other words you see beloved friends dear brothers and sisters hypocrisy is coming in here when one can go and worship and pray to God and yet have issues and problems with one another that develop and continue on and continue on and we know our own hearts we know our own hearts every one of us you and I that's why we need so much

to search our hearts and Yeshua said in other words agree with your adversary quickly lest you ultimately be delivered unto the judge and from the judge to the officer and then eventually you're going to go to prison in other words don't harbor hatred and friction in your life because this is far worse internally than anything else verily I said to you thou shalt by no means come out thence until you are paid the uttermost father in other words you are guilty before God because of the condition that exists in your own heart even if you haven't done the act you see beloved brothers and sisters Yeshua the Messiah elevating God's law to a highest condition

that the holy God gave this not only that one will not murder another take the law to his own hand but that the heart of man by nature need to be recognized their sinfulness and turn to the Lord in repentance notice what he said in the second example about adultery verses 27 to verse 30 the law of adultery and so we read in verse 27 ye have heard that it was said by them of all time thou shall not commit adultery but I said to you that whosoever look on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart verse 29 and 30 if thy right eyes offend thee pluck

it out and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not thy whole body should be cast into hell and verse 30 and if thy right hand offend thee cast it off from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell he used the word here Gehenna or Gehenom in Hebrew in other words ye have heard that what the law said and the interpretation of the pharisees was that as long that the act was not committed then one is not guilty but Yeshua said I said to you even looking

at a woman to last off her hair is already committing adultery with her in our hearts and then he is speaking about self judgment if your right eyes offend thee pluck it off if your right hand offend thee cut it off because it is better to come into the presence of God without an eye or without an hand than that the whole body should be cast into Gehenom Gehenna in other words what he is saying deal drastically with sin in your heart and how one deal drastically with sin is through repentance and confession and turning to Yeshua Jesus the Messiah as a supreme sacrifice for forgiveness 1 John 1 9 if we confess our sins

he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness beloved brothers and sisters you see Yeshua Jesus the Messiah is presenting these six examples which contrasts the interpretation of the righteousness which he understood from what the law demands with the Pharisees interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands the Pharisees only understood that outwardly the Messiah Yeshua presented as an inward condition of the heart and God declared that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and so he said before us a third example in verses 31 and 32 the law of divorce and so we read in verse 31 it has been said whosoever

shall put away his wife let him give her a writing of divorce but I said to you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication causes her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committed adultery you see beloved brothers and sisters here is the scripture says that God have made them male and female and God is the one that performed the wedding in the garden of Eden where he brought a chava to Adam Eve to Adam and he is the one who said let a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his own wife and the two shall become one flesh Genesis chapter

2 verse 23 and 24 but then later on in Deuteronomy chapter 24 because of the hardness of the hearts among the people of God God have allowed them to divorce their wife if they found their wife unclean and there was uncleanness in her if she had any other relationship outside of her relationship with her husband but you see by the time that the Pharisees interpreted these a commandment that God have allowed and gave then what happened is that the interpretation was that the person could divorce his wife for any reason and so Yeshua says in verses 32 I say unto you whose service you put away his wife notice except the only ground for divorce

is fornication otherwise you're causing her to to commit adultery and so the Lord Jesus the Messiah is elevating God's law as he said think not that I'm come to destroy the law verse 17 or the prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill he elevate God's law that is holy and pure and he revealed the condition of the hearts of mankind whether it is the Pharisees or whether it is his disciples or whether it is the followers the multitude or whether it is you and I or any person any human being we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God the fourth example is found in verse 33 to 37

of Matthew chapter 5 the law of oath and so we read in verse 33 again ye have heard that it had been said by them of old thou shall not forswear thyself but shall perform unto the Lord thine oath but I said to you swear not at all neither by heaven for it is God's throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king here is the king the Messiah he continued verse 36 and 37 neither shall thou swear by thy head because thou canst not make one hair white or black but let your communication be yea yea nay nay for whatsoever is

more than these of cometh of evil and so beloved brothers and sisters and dear friend it had been said by them of all thou shall not swear thyself don't make an oath coming from Leviticus 19 and verse 12 thou shall not swear thyself and then he gives us the list don't swear by heaven because it is God's throne not by earth because it is his footstool not by the city of Jerusalem because it is the city of the great king the king of kings of whom we read in chapter 2 beloved brothers and sisters when the wise men came from the east and they requested to know where is he that was born the king

of the Jews for we have seen his star in the east and we have come to worship him Jerusalem is the city of the great king and then the Lord said no don't swear not by heaven not by earth not by the city of Jerusalem not even by your own head just say let your communication say yes and do it or no and don't do it but don't make promises that you can't keep don't swear by heaven or by earth or by Jerusalem or by your own head you cannot change anything just say I will do it or I cannot do it or I can't do it and do it be true be honest and

do things that you can do with the help of God and so the fifth example that Yeshua the Messiah present before his disciples is the law of the non-resistance of the law of non-retaliation that is found we find that in Exodus 21 and verse 24 tells us that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in other word there is a call not to resist Yeshua is teaching not to resist but in the law says that verses 38 to 42 ye have heard that it hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth quoting Exodus 21 24 Leviticus 24 20 but I say unto you that ye

resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek turn to him the other also and if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain give to him that asks thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away you see beloved brothers and sisters no one could take the law to his own hand and therefore when the law was given and the instruction in Exodus chapter 21 was to the people of Israel concerning the way in which the government that be the leadership that be will

govern it does say in Exodus 21 and verse 24 an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth hand for hand foot for foot verse 25 burning for burning wound for wound stripe for stripe but it was not the requirement of one to take the resistance and retaliation to his own hand it was the governing that be to execute these judgments upon those that committed such crime but Yeshua the Messiah is elevating here the law by saying I say don't resist whoever should smite you don't fight back give him the other cheek this is a high standard beloved brothers and sisters again the Lord Jesus the Messiah provide to the disciples his own interpretation

of the righteousness which the law demands in contrast to the Pharisees interpretation of the righteousness which the law demands and finally the last example that Yeshua Jesus the Messiah present before his disciples is found in the last verses here in Matthew chapter 5 verses 43 to 48 and I would like to read this for us all ye have heard that it has been said thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemies this is the law of love and it had been said thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemies quotation from Leviticus 19 18 and Deuteronomy 23 verses 3 to 6 thy neighbor was always for Israel in Israel's history those from among

the people of Israel and thine enemies were always looked upon as those who are not from the nations who were the enemies of Israel but Yeshua is presenting before the disciples and those who followed him concerning the true interpretation of the desire of God through the law that he had given his people Yeshua Jesus the Messiah says in verse 44 to verse 48 but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you that he may be the children of your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise on the evil

and on the good and is sending rain on the just and on the unjust for if you love them which love you what reward have ye do not even the publicans the same and if ye salute your brethren only what do ye more than others do not even the publican so be therefore perfect or mature or fully developed even as your father which is in heaven is perfect you see beloved brothers and sisters what we learn from these verses is the standard of living which will take place during the messianic kingdom when the kingdom of heaven will be here on earth at the millennial age at the messianic kingdom when God in the person of

the messiah Yeshua will rule and reign over this world Israel the nation will be restored and blessed and be used by him as vessels of honor to be a blessing to this world and so in these verses we have these six examples and the final one here in verses 43 to 48 is the law of love and and the law of love it had been said that you would love your neighbor but you will hate your enemy but I said to you that you not only should love your neighbor but you should love your enemy to bless you the one that curse you to do good to the one that hate you to pray for

the one that despitefully use you and persecute you why in order that you may be children of the father which is in heaven for he maketh the son in other words God make the son to rise on those that do evil and those that do good and those that are just and those that are unjust and the call of God's people is to go beyond the external and out of a heart that is submissiveness to God one is to rise above merely the outward appearance and beloved brothers and sisters this is a high standard which is yet to be observed by mankind this is the standard that Yeshua Jesus the Messiah have exhibited in his

own life when he was here on earth throughout his life from the time that Yeshua Jesus the Messiah was born until the time he died he set an example of the highest standard that the Lord demanded for mankind beloved brothers and sisters it says Christ the Messiah also suffered for us living for us an example that ye should follow in his steps first first Peter 2 verse 21 who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatened not but committed himself to him the judges righteously who his own self bear our sins in his body on the tree that we being

dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripe ye are healed for ye were sheep going astray but are now returned unto the shepherd and the overseers of your souls imagine beloved brothers and sisters the Lord Jesus the Messiah suffered and he threatened not but he committed unto him the judges righteously what an example we have in the person of our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah and that in the fifth chapter of the gospel of Matthew the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah is teaching his own disciples about his own relationship to the law that God gave to his people Israel and how he interpret the law and the righteousness which the law demanded in

contrast with the Pharisees who interpret the righteousness of the law that the law demanded they interpreted the law simply outwardly but he interpreted the law that it is an internal condition in the heart of a person who submits to God confess his or her sins repent and accepting the need of forgiveness and receiving the righteousness which is from the person and the work of Jesus the Messiah my dear friend we trust that we can grasp these beloved friends and the Lord is able to help us understand as we continue on in the study of the gospel of Matthew God bless you my dear friend until the next time we say to you all Shalom Shalom