Matthew 5:21-22

Far from scrapping the Jewish law, Jesus had come to intensify it, and here’s the first example. Everybody knows that it is wrong to murder, but Jesus dug much, much deeper by stating that it is wrong merely to be angry. What he was saying was that if you could solve the problem of anger there would never be another murder. We need to address the roots of the problem, and that’s precisely why Jesus came into the world.

In the rest of the chapter Jesus talked about five other areas of the law – lust, divorce, making vows, taking revenge and our relationship with our enemies. In each case he stated the law of Moses and then went on to intensify the command. For example, everyone knew that it was wrong to commit adultery, but Jesus pointed out that what was really wrong was what was going on in people’s minds long before they took any action (v28).

This radical teaching challenges every part of our lives because Jesus is saying that our thinking needs to be totally renewed. It isn’t enough that we have merely kept the law and stayed out of trouble. God wants us to live so close to him that our very thinking will be motivated by his love, grace, generosity and peace.

Question
In what ways is God reshaping your thinking at the moment?

Prayer
Loving God, I invite your Spirit to renew my thinking so that I will live more closely to you. Amen

Released on 13 Oct 2023