Matthew 5 - Murder & Adultery

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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. Matthew 5:17-18

Jesus teaches His disciples that He came to fulfill all the law and the prophets, and that they were to look to those laws with spiritual eyes; there are spiritual truths behind the natural requirements of the law that cause all men to be sinners.  

For example, He tells them that hatred of the heart is the same as murder AND that to lust with the eyes is the same as adultery. This was not understood by the religious rulers of Jesus' day and it isn't understood by many sitting in the pews of our modern churches.

Just as Paul explained in the book of Romans, the law is a shadow of Jesus the Savior, and it fulfills its purpose by revealing the sin nature in all of us. When confronted by the righteous, inflexible law, all of us come to see that we are sinners in need of a savior.

But once we receive the savior, Jesus Christ, we become born again, children of God, partakers of the divine nature. That is very good news, indeed!

Matthew 5 - the Beatitudes

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:1-3.

After Jesus selects His first disciples, He lays out a blueprint for the individual who will receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Referred to as the Beatitudes, we find this teaching in Matthew 5. 

As the multitudes followed Him and as His fame became great in all of Israel, Jesus left a wake of healed and delivered people behind Him. At this point, He went up to a high mountain and taught his disciples about the Kingdom.

Who will receive this wonderful Kingdom? It won't be those who believe they are righteous because of their law-keeping and their good deeds. No, it will be those who receive righteousness God's way - by and from Jesus Christ, His son - by His grace through our faith.

Those who are poor in spirit, who mourn and long within their hearts for something more than what religion offers, who hunger and thirsts for God, who desire mercy and peace from Him are the ones who seek after this Kingdom and receive it. Persecution from the religious sect will come, but great blessings will be the reward.

All of us who are IN Christ Jesus can attest that we have been that man at some point! And when we come to Him and get born again, we become rich in spirit, our mourning ceases, our thirst and hunger are quenched and satisfied! We are children of God, filled with His Spirit, becoming partakers of His divine nature. What could be better than that?!