Old Covenant Reading (read first):  Genesis 4:1-12

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon – You Have Heard It Said

Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’”

He finally begins to preach upon the Moral Law itself. This is the section of the Law that most people are vaguely familiar with (Yes, contradictory terms).

As Jesus teaches on the Moral Law, please notice what He doesn’t do. He doesn’t turn this into a morality lecture. He is indeed speaking on the Moral Law, but not in such a way that we come away with the reductionistic trope of “be good, do be angry.”

There are far more complexities to honoring this law than we like to think about. What Jesus says here, requires much more that a simple statement of moralism. He is requiring us to use wisdom in our lives, in order to keep the commandments.

Peter Leithart writes about this portion of Christ’s sermon:

“These instructions are not just membership qualifications. They are redemptive commandments, and Jesus is laying out the specifics of the redemptive righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.”