The Purpose of the Law- Matthew 5:17-20
“He said what?” What he says here is radical. It’s surprising. To be honest, it’s also a little overwhelming. Because what he has to say here sounds a lot like an unattainable standard. And let’s just be clear: the standard Jesus calls us to here is unattainable…it’s impossible…unless you understand what Jesus says at the very beginning.
Anger Management-Matthew 5:21-26
The rules can point us in the right direction, but they can’t actually accomplish the transformation that needs to happen inside us. The rules can’t make us righteous. But Jesus can. Today, we’re going to look at an example of examples of Old Testament laws and use it to illustrate how those laws point us to the kind of people God designed us to be!
Dangerous Attraction-Matthew 5:27-30
Today, Craig takes us into a hard subject. This isn’t about the intent to commit adultery with her or him. It’s about the intent to desire her. In other words, Jesus is warning us about the danger of entertaining attraction to someone other than your spouse. That’s what lust is. It’s the decision to entertain attraction to someone.
Promise Keeping-Matthew 5:33-37
Now, let’s just pause here for a minute because what Jesus does here is a little different than what he’s been doing up to this point. See, up to this point, the pattern Jesus has been following has been to quote a single Old Testament law. But here, instead of quoting one law, he actually summarizes several Old Testament laws that revolve around what we might call swearing…. tune in to hear Craig break down Jesus’ standards here on promise-keeping.
Why Justice Isn’t Good Enough-Matthew 5:38-42
So, Jesus wants us to be vulnerable. He wants us to give more than is required. He wants us to serve our enemies. He wants us to practice unfailing generosity. Let me ask you this: What do all these things have in common? Join us as Craig unpacks this in our last week of our ‘He Said What?’ series before we kick off an amazing new series next week!
