TEACHING NOTES Introduction The Sermon on the Mount contains Jesus’ teaching on the New Covenant, which Jesus calls the Good News of the Kingdom. Much like the Old Covenant that was given on Mt. Sinai, Jesus delivers the New Covenant from the mountain. Jesus begins with a description of the identity (Matt. 5:1-12) and purpose (Matt. 5:13-16) of God’s new people. Just as Israel was God’s treasured possession to be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5-6), followers of Jesus are blessed to be salt and light. Now that Jesus has revealed our identity and purpose, He is about to transition to the new laws of the New Covenant. Since Jesus knows that His audience will struggle to let go of the Old Covenant Torah, He takes a moment to explain why new laws are needed. ​ Matthew 5:17 ESV 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Abolish = Grk. katalyo - to tear down, destroy completely. The Law or the Prophets = This refers to the first two sections of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Torah (Genesis—Deut.) and the Prophets include what we call the historical books and the books of the major and minor prophets. I have come to fulfill them = The Greek word for “fulfill” used here is pleroo, which means to finish or complete. Jesus did not come to destroy the Torah because He is coming to fulfill or complete its story and promises. How did Jesus fulfill the Old Testament? There are multiple prophesies and promises that Jesus fulfilled: In Gen. 3:15, God promised the serpent that a descendant of Eve would crush his head for deceiving humanity into sin. Jesus, a descendant of Eve, defeated Satan through His death and resurrection. Also see Gal. 5:19. In Gen. 12:2-3, God promised Abram/Abraham that he would become a great nation (Israel) that would bless all the families of earth. Matthew begins his Gospel by presenting Jesus as the son of Abraham. In Gen. 49:8-12, Jacob blesses his son Judah with a promise that a descendant would arise as a lion and a king who will rule the nations. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In Deut. 18:18, God promised that a prophet like Moses would come with the words of God in His mouth. Jesus is presented in the NT as the new Moses who would lead, make atonement, and intercede for God’s people. Paul taught that Jesus completed/ended the Torah in Rom. 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” and that the Torah was only intended to be a temporary guardian against sin Gal. 3:24-26 “24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” ​ Matthew 5:18 ESV 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Until heaven and earth pass away = In the biblical worldview, this refers to the place where heaven and earth meet—that is the temple of God. Jesus is saying that the Torah will remain in place until the Old Covenant temple system is destroyed, which occured in AD 70. The destruction of the temple officially and finally ended the Old Covenant and has never been able to be followed since. While describing the destruction of the temple, Jesus declares in Matt. 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” This proves that Jesus thought of the temple as a heaven-and-earth place and that it was going to pass away forever. Since Jesus was going to create a new temple (believers), the old temple needed to be removed. Until all is accomplished = This does not refer to everything in scripture being accomplished, but refers to what Jesus would accomplish to end the Old Covenant and bring in the New Covenant. What needed to be accomplished? There needed to be a time where people were prepared to accept the New Covenant and believe that Jesus was the Messiah. This occured during the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The cross needed to occur to defeat Satan, destroy the power of sin, and cleanse God’s people as His new temple. Before Jesus died He said, “It is finished!” Therefore, the cross was the final sacrifice which ended the Old Covenant sacrificial system. The resurrection needed to occur to prove that Jesus had defeated death and made a way for our resurrection. The Holy Spirit needed to come to dwell in believers as God’s new temple. This occured in Acts and the kingdom spread as a result. The Gospel needed to include both Jews and Gentiles, which began in Acts and continues today. The temple needed to be destroyed to end the Old Covenant and prove that God’s Spirit now dwells in His people. All of these events began with Jesus’ ministry and was completed with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. This provided a 40-year window of transition that gave the Jewish people ample time to believe in Jesus and get out of Jerusalem. ​ Matthew 5:19 ESV 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one 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. These commandments = There is debate about which commandments Jesus is referring to in this verse. Is Jesus talking about the Torah commandments or is He referring to the new commandments that He is about to give? In an early church commentary on Matthew, John Chrysostom wrote, “He did not say this [these commandments] with regard to the laws of old, but about those which He was proceeding to enact.” — Chrysostom, Matthew ch. 16, line 4 (AD 390) "These commandments” cannot refer to the Torah because: Jesus has already stated that He is completing the Law (Matt. 5:17). The Torah did not pertain to the kingdom but to the temporary covenant with Israel leading up to the kingdom (Gal. 3:24-26). Jesus declares that the people of the kingdom must obey “these commandments” and teach others to do the same (Matt. 5:19). This cannot mean that NT believers must obey the Torah law, because the NT repeatedly states that we are no longer under the Old Covenant (Acts 15:1-35; Rom. 6:14; Gal. 3:10; 5:18). Therefore, “these commandments” refers to the new commands of the kingdom that Jesus is about to deliver in Matt. 5:21-7:12. Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven = Followers of Jesus are expected to obey the Law of Christ and teach others to do the same. Every covenant includes terms (laws/commands) that the receiving party is expected to fulfill. The New Covenant is no different and we are expected to do what Jesus commands. Any version of the Gospel that teaches people that believing in Jesus is all that God requires of us is a false gospel that ignores the teachings of Christ. Obedience is the evidence that we are truly believing and trusting in Christ. ​ Matthew 5:20 ESV 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Unless your righteousness exceeds scribes and Pharisees = The scribes and Pharisees were experts in the Torah and were obsessed with strict external obedience to its laws. Jesus is about show that God is more interested in obedience that comes from the heart, not merely external rituals and religion. Jesus is going to do this by quoting the Torah laws and turning them inward. Righteousness = Grk. dikaiosyne - being right in relationship. The scribes and Pharisees had redefined righteousness as merely strict obedience to set of laws and traditions. They had stripped away the relational heart of the Torah. They had also reduced the Torah to the laws, at the expense of the story. The Torah is not a book of laws, but is a story/history that includes covenant laws. We do not obey God to get Him to love us. We obey God because He already loves us and we obey because we love Him. Relationship does not come from righteousness. Righteousness comes from relationship. You will never enter the kingdom = The kingdom is already and not yet or present now and greater later. If we are not seeking an internal righteousness with God, we will miss the kingdom now and later. In Christ, the Old Covenant has been fulfilled and the New Covenant has been revealed. Conclusion Today we respond in worship, communion, and prayer. Before you take communion, take a moment to pray, confess and repent of sin, and ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to obey His Word.