Sermon on the Mount

Okay. We're gonna we're gonna turn to God's word now. So if you'd like to If you've got a Bible, grab it, open it. And turn to Matthew chapter 5, and verse 17 to 20. If you haven't got 1 that's alright, it's coming up on the screen as well.

And then after we read Matthew chapter 5, verse 17 to 20, we're going to turn to Revelation chapter 5, and reading from verse 1 to 5 there. So Matthew chapter 5, and starting at verse 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. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.

Therefore, Anyone who sets aside 1 of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called Great in the Kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of heaven. And then Revelation 5: 1. Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with 7 seals.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? But no 1 in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll, or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no 1 was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then 1 of the elders said to me, do not weep, see the lion of a tribe of Judah, the root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its 7 seals.

Well, good evening, everyone. Welcome from me. And let's ask for God's help now as we open up his words. And as we listen to him speak to us. Father, we give you great thanks for this evening.

Thank you that we can gather. Thank you for the many answers to prayer that we can meet as a body again. And we thank you that people are able to join at home as well online. We pray that as we read your word now, and as we see the words of Jesus, you would be speaking to our hearts. You would be causing us to love Jesus more and to realize and learn more about our dependence on him.

As our righteousness. In his name, we pray, amen. Okay. I wonder if you've ever been to a hotel room and noticed in 1 of the little drawers, especially by the bedside table, there's a little bible in there. That's a great thing, isn't it?

We live in a world where hotels, we just have a bible. In in the room. And if if you've seen it, it's likely there because a Gidion has put it there. And you'll see it. It'll say Gidian bible on it.

I've got a little 1 here which I'll show you in a minute. If you've ever wondered what a Gidian is, because I sort of have just gone through my whole life, not really It's 1 of those things that occasionally you're Google if if you remember, but otherwise you just don't use like, yeah, it's really a giddy. What the heck is that? It's simply a member of the Christian Organization Gidians International. Maybe everyone knows this and I'm the last person to know this.

But it's not like I thought, potentially, it's not another name for another religion like you've got Mormonism and you've got Gidians and you got Christians. It's not that. It's not a different denomination like methodists, Baptist and Gidians. They're literally just an evangelistic organization that started in 18 98 with 2 American businessmen who spent a lot of time on the road and in hotels. And they had a vision, which is amazing, to put a hotel at hotel in every bible, to put a bible in every hotel room in America.

That's a great vision, isn't it? And actually, since then over the last hundred and 20 years or so, they've apparently, on their website says this, they've distributed more than 2000000000 bibles. And I think free of charge as well, most of them. And that's amazing, isn't it? That's incredible.

That's like third of the people alive today. To have a bible because Gidians have given them out. And they've expanded way beyond the US now. They give them out to more than hundred 90 countries which is why if you go to prem you're in or something, you might find a little bible in in in the little draw. And the way they do this, this is something else that I've wondered and never looked into before.

So how do they do it? They just book every room in the hotel and go in, put a bible in, close the door and go, right. That's it. Let's sleep tonight. Tomorrow it's a hundred and 1 and then it's a hundred and 2.

They don't do that and it's not I just imagine how else could they do this thought maybe they could like mission impossible that, you know, the little like ceiling panel pops off and in the night they come down and drop the bible in. And no. Apparently, it's quite nice this. When a new hotel opens, there's actually a little ceremony when some local Gidians will come and present a bible as a gift to the hotel manager. And they donate enough bibles for every room in the hotel.

There you go. It's quite nice, isn't it? I learned something about the Gidians. But 1 of the things you might have also noticed about these Bibles, which is a little unusual, is that often they're just a new testament in the Psalms. Than if you've ever noticed that before.

I was rifling through Pete's library upstairs and I thought, I wonder if he's got 1 of these and then I lo and behold, I found this. This is a Gidian, new testament in Psalms bible. So there you go. So if you need proof, it's right there. And I guess it's cheaper to print this.

Than it is to print a whole bible. And maybe they want to print more bibles and get them out to more people and I could get behind that. From an evangelistic point of view. Let's do that. Let's get the gospel into it as many people's hands as possible.

But what we're gonna see tonight is that aside from an evangelistic push, presenting the new testament independently from the old testament, and sort of splitting them up and having a new testament only is actually a terrible idea. And is ultimately, it's like hearing the punch line of a joke without any of the context. I said, it doesn't make any sense. So I thought I'd tell you a joke right now. You stay here, I'll go on ahead.

Sorry, that was the punch line. The context is what did 1 hat say to the other. It's an illustration. This doesn't have to be funny. It's fine.

Or splitting the new testament from the old, I think, is like removing the set removing the set from a stage from a scene in which a drama unfolds. So I don't know if you've seen a film sort of behind the scenes, film being made like this, where you're in studio and they've got green screens. We've got a green screen here. There's a picture of that in a minute. But before the special effects guys have had their opportunity to go in and put a context, sometimes they just look like a bunch of people doing weird things in a room by themselves, especially if they're wearing the green screen suits.

It's like the green sort of tight lycra thing. They look very odd indeed, and you think what on earth is going on here? But then as soon as you add the context, then you go, okay, right, yeah, you should have been ducking and hiding and all of this sort of stuff. I mean, this is the World Cup final. Can you tell?

If it was, if there weren't the trees there, it might look like a bunch of us on Fairfield Park playing sort of 5 aside or something. But when you add the context in the scene, It's the World Cup final. It makes sense. Oh, here we go. What are these plunkers doing here?

Pete's holding like just a plastic harry bow tumbling. We're like, what's round that we could hold? Anyway, add the context. And then suddenly, it kinda makes a bit more sense. He's still holding there.

Yeah. I didn't change I didn't change it. I think in the same way, the gospel of Jesus Christ is really, really good news precisely because of what God has revealed to us and prepared us for in the old testament. So it's not that the old testament was just plan a, which went horribly horribly wrong. So God thought, right, plan b, Jesus.

Go go go go go. And it's not that the old testament is like a pixar short either, which is very emotional sometimes and enjoyable to watch, but it's got nothing to do with the main event. The old testament is intricately setting the scene piece by piece, law by law, profit by profit so that when Jesus walks on, we know exactly who he is and exactly what he's come to do. He's the punch line, that we've been building up to. He's the drama that's happening on this stage that's been set.

And without the context or the set, he's just a man before a green screen, and we're not entirely sure why he's so important or why we should listen to him. So My first point tonight is this, not abolished, but fulfilled, not abolished, but fulfilled. Jesus was aware of what people thought about him. You see that in in the gospels. And early in his ministry in Mark chapter 1, he drives out an impure spirit from from a man.

And in verse 27, we see this reaction from the people. Says the people were also amazed that they started they started asking each other. What is this? A new teaching and with authority. So, you know, this is a new teaching, they said.

Here's something new and different. We've not heard this before, And it's with authority, the teachers of the Lord is sort of waffled on and on and on and on. But here's this guy, maybe we should just ditch everything else and just listen to this man. That was then, but Jesus is also aware of what we think about him today. I think sometimes we might as well just have a new testament in Psalms because isn't that what we'll just tend to and read.

In fact, I heard an interview recently, which is quite extreme, but I heard an interview recently from a man who had only, for the last 2 years, he'd literally only read the words of Jesus in the Gospels. So if you've got 1 of those bibles where Jesus speaking is read text, that for 2 years are the only things he would read because he wanted in in his mind what he thought He wanted to be as close to the words of God as possible. That's extreme and that's a misunderstanding as we as we all know of what the word of God is But there can be an underlying feeling, can't there? Of thinking that the old testament is just a bit angry, It's outdated. I mean, what the heck was this morning about, you know?

Let we don't wanna hear that sort of stuff, do we? We wanna just hear about grace and forgiveness. And Jesus. And so we'd much rather just read the new testament. So here in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, Jesus deals directly with people in his age, and he deals with us today as well.

And he says this. Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them when the Bible says the law and the profit, that's just a way to sum up all of the old testament scriptures basically. So that's what Jesus is talking about here. And the word for abolished here in the sentence, that he's used is quite strong actually.

It means to sort of destroy or overthrow, which is language that you might use when 2 nations or thrones are competing or fighting with 1 another. So Jesus is saying, I'm not bringing a new message to overthrow or replace the old testament. But figuratively, I have come to sit on the throne of the old testament, and we see that really clearly at the transfiguration, if you know that story where Jesus is seen, isn't he? As he's as he's sort of glorified on top of this mountain, he's he's transformed and and there it appears Moses and Elijah and they're speaking with him. And there's not like a little scuffle going on.

Elijah trying to clamber on top of Moses, she's saying, I'm the better profit. I'm I'm the better profit. And Jesus saying, guys, I'm the better profit. They're all in discussion with 1 another. And in Loop chapter 9, it says this, they spoke about his departure.

Which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. So Moses who represents the law and Elijah who represents the prophets, they're all in agreement with Jesus about his departure. That's a word that makes him sound like he's in an airport departure lounge, but his departure means his departure from this world. So his death his resurrection and his ascension into heaven, which he's about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. So when Jesus steps on in Matthew 5 and says, I have not come to abolish but to fulfill, can you see what staggering statement Jesus is making about himself here in Matthew chapter 5.

It would actually be less staggering if he said, I have come to abolish them actually. That would be less staggering because loads of people have tried to abolish them. We try to abolish them most days. Don't we? But far from abolishing the law and the prophets, Jesus is claiming to be v 1, v 1, who has come to fulfill them.

He's the promised 1 by God himself. So, if we look at the set and the staging of the old testament, If you can see all of that, then he is the promised seed of Eve who will crush the serpent's head. He is the promised prophet God will raise up out of Israel. He is the passover lamb whose blood is painted on the posts of the cross. He's the new temple and tabernacle.

He's a manual, which means God's with us. He's the great high priest who intercedes on our behalf before God. His his tomb is the mercy seat, where atonement for our sin is made. He's the true Moses to lead us out of slavery, He's the true Aaron to lead us across the Jordan. He's the true Elijah to save us from debt.

From death in the pot, from the sunken axe head, he's the true Davidic king, whose kingdom will be established forever. So, You see, the scene has been set in the old testament. The stage has been built intricately. To show 2 things. 1, we need a savior.

And this savior's gonna be a man. He's gonna be spring of Eve, we're told. He's gonna be raced from among Israel we're told. He's gonna sit on David's throne we're told. But also secondly, We're told that salvation comes from the lord.

Over and over and over again, we're told this and we see this in our Elijah in 2 kings, don't we? In fact, we heard it this morning. The king said, what can I do for you if the Lord's not gonna help? The king of that people said, I can't do anything. The Lord is the 1.

A man alone cannot save us, it must be the lord. So, that's the crisis. That's the problem presented in the old testament. That's the scene that's being set That frames this tragedy. We need a savior who's a man, but salvation comes from the lord.

So who on earth is gonna fill those boots? Is it is it gonna be Abraham? Is he gonna be the 1 who says humanity? The great father, Abraham? How about Isaac or Jacob?

I mean, they all needed saving themselves. What about Noah? He built a boat big enough for the whole world. Or King David, or Elijah, or even Elijah. I mean, ironically, Elijah means, Yahay is salvation, doesn't it?

Yahway saves. That's what Elijah means. So Elijah can't save. His name is telling you, I can't save. Yahway is the 1.

US to save. And so with the scene set in the old testament, in Revelation chapter 5, a mighty angel proclaims an allowed voice to the universe. And we had this read, Rory read this. The angel stands up and says, who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? And the scroll is God's salvation and judgment plan for the world.

So who could possibly be the 1 to do it? And this mighty angel is booming this to the entire universe, to the heavens, to the earth, to those under the earth, and then in verse 3. But no 1 in heaven or on Earth or under the Earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. And so John, who sees this vision just weeps and weeps and weeps because he knows the old testament problem. He knows the tragedy of humanity, and in all of creation, Across all ages, there's not a single person who could do it.

That's the set. And then on steps Jesus, who says, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. I am the way the truth and the life I am the resurrection and the life. Here is Jesus, center stage, q Jesus, the lion of Judah who John sees on the throne in Revelation. He he comes from the center of the throne we're told.

This is God from God. He's the lord. The 1 who brings salvation. But then John looks again and he sees a lamb standing in the center of the throne. What's that about?

Well, the son of God who is on the throne in heaven has become a man to become the lamb of God, to be slain for the sins of the world. And in order to do that, he had to become an offspring of Eve. He had to be raised from among Israel. He had to come from the root of David. So how will the scroll of God's salvation plan be fulfilled?

Who was worthy to open the scroll? The answer is here in Matthew chapter 5 is Jesus. The god man, the lord, and the offspring of Eve, who says, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. I hope you can see why the old testament's important and why we need it. My second point, my points get quicker as we go through tonight.

My second point is the law still stands. Christ has come to save us from the legal demands of the law, but as we've just seen, not by abolishing it. And he actually goes further. It's not only that he's not come to abolish it, He actually is about to affirm it. In verse 18, he says, for truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.

So as long as there's a heaven and an earth, as long as you're sat here right now, as long as you're breathing air into your lungs, not the smallest letter of the law. Is gonna be removed. It still stands. And this is for a couple of reasons. He's he's just 3 reasons.

Firstly, because God doesn't change. He's the same yesterday today and forever. And as as we read, as Rory read at the beginning, his statutes, his laws, his will for our lives remain the same. They haven't changed, and they're perfect. There's no second amendment to God's law.

There's no third amendment to God's word. He's perfect in all of his ways, and he always has been. Which means when he spoke his laws to us, he was revealing his perfect character, his perfect nature, and he doesn't change. Secondly, this the law still stands because he's trustworthy and all his promises come true, and that is a great encouragement, isn't it? And when God promised the serpent crusher, There was nothing in the whole universe, not even the serpent himself, who could make the least stroke of that promise disappear.

And that means when he says, he's gonna raise you from the dead. There's nothing in all of creation that can make the least stroke of that promise disappear. So, God doesn't change, his promises will come true. And thirdly, the law still stands because through the law, we become conscious of our sin. Paul says this in Romans chapter 7.

I would not have known what sin was, had it not been for the law? For I would not have known what coveting really was, if the law had not said, you shall not covet. So God in his kindness has thrown a spotlight on our sin through the law so that we recognize it for what it is. We wouldn't have known what coveting was. We wouldn't have known.

We would have just been getting on with our lives, being jealous of everything and everyone. And got in his kindness and said, no, you shall not covet. My brother-in-law, Seth passed away a couple of years ago and with a brain tumor. And he had a couple of operations to try and remove it as it was sort of growing and stuff. And in order to tell what was tumor and what was healthy brain, he was injected with this dye.

Which I think if I'm remembering rightly, made it like glow, made the tumor glow or change color or something. So that when the surgeons were going in, they could tell really clearly what was healthy brain and what was cancer. Well, the law is like a die in our own hearts. That shows us where the cancer is, to show us just how sick we are. So bearing those things in mind, those 3 reasons Jesus says, in verse 19.

Therefore, anyone who sets aside 1 of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So if we set the law aside, then we set the die aside. We set the spotlight aside. So we might not have to follow the levitical law to the letter, anymore.

There's all sorts of stuff, you know, about clothing and mixing, different materials and things. We might not have to follow that to the to the to the letter anymore because Christ has offered a sacrifice on our behalf once and for all. But we certainly teach the levitical law, don't we? So that we might continue to see how sinful we are. So that we continue to see why God had to give us that law in the first What is he trying to show us about ourselves by giving us that law?

What is he trying to show us about him? And you see, if you read the stuff in the old testament, you just you see how much stuff. So, we've even come into God's presence. So, we've even come and listen to his word, how many things, how many pigeons would you have had to have killed tonight, on the doorstep. You just get your temperature killed and you slaughter a pigeon.

And also, if we teach the old testament properly and the laws properly, then actually we see how great the fulfillment in Christ is as well. We see how he's the high priest. We see how he's the sack precise. We see how he's the pleasing aroma to God, how he's His blood has been sprinkled on the people. And we also see things like the linen that the high priests wore on the day of atonement.

On the day of atonement, he wore a special linen And when he'd finished the sacrifice and it had been accepted by God and the people's sins had been forgiven, he took the linen off and left it in the place of sacrifice. And then we see Christ and his linen in the empty tomb. The sacrifice has been accepted. So we continue to teach these things. We continue to teach this law, cleanse yourself before God.

But now we teach by the blood of Christ, not by the blood of animals. Christ has fulfilled the law. He hasn't come to abolish it. It still stands. Third point, a righteousness of the pharisees.

Bearing all this sort of stuff in mind, 1 of the major problems that the Farices had was that they'd taken the law and instead of letting it be like a spotlight on their hearts to show them how sick they were, and instead of, you know, letting it be a dye in their heart to show them where the cancer was, they'd actually found ways to satisfy the law to sort of tick and say, yep, kept that, kept that, kept that, kept that, and so they thought they were righteous because they could their little tick sheet. Haven't done this today, haven't done that today. In fact, Jesus tells parable about a Pharcy who prays this is unbelievable. God, I thank you that I am not like other people. Robbers haven't robbed today.

Tic. Evil dues haven't been evil today. Tic. Adulteries. Haven't haven't committed adultery today.

Tic. Reaving like this tax collector, I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. Faracies thought ticking those boxes, meant they were righteous and the unrighteousness of the tax collector was because he couldn't tick it. He had been evil today, so I can't tick that box. And therefore, you're unrighteous.

But Back to Paul. Oh, I don't know. Haven't got it. It's a short 1. It's alright.

Paul Thunder in Romans chapter 3, there is no 1 righteous, not even 1. So, not even new pharisees. You're there with your tick sheet. Haven't robbed anyone today. Tic, I'm righteous.

You've got it wrong. Jesus actually explains to them it's what comes out with a person's heart that defiles them, not whether they've ceremonially washed their hands or not, not whether they've not robbed someone today. And so there's actually no difference Farracy between you and the tax collector in front of God's eyes. And this is why in Matthew 5 verse 20, Jesus says for I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees and the teaching of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Don't aim to be like the pharisees.

Jesus is saying. The pharisees had a phony righteousness. They knew the laws of God. They knew them more than anyone. But they didn't know the heart of the laws.

And to illustrate this, Jesus is about to launch into 6 examples where he says, you have heard it said, this The law, but I tell you this, the heart of the law. And he's gonna do this 6 times for murder, for adultery, for divorce, oaths, justice, love for enemies. He takes the Faracy's interpretation of the law. You know, I've never actually killed anyone with my bare hands. I'm not a murderer, and he absolutely smashes them and says, if you've been angry with someone and you've murdered someone, it gets to the heart of the matter and the reason the law is given at all.

And to be honest, I challenge anyone to come out of those 6 examples unscathed. You can't even get past the first 1. I challenge you to get past the first 1. And these are the next sermons in the next few weeks. So if you want to have your heart revealed and opened, then come along to the next few services.

But we have to ask ourselves, before we go into these examples, we have to ask ourselves, what is Jesus doing here? Is he about to just lay down a harder law for us to follow? Is he just trying to make us try harder? You've heard it said this but actually I wanna give you all of these new footnotes as well that you have to follow. Is he just trying to teach us?

You can be self righteous, Rory, As long as you do all of this, and this, this, and this, and this, or is he actually just applying a stronger die to our hearts? Shining a brighter light, sitting us down, showing us x-ray, showing us scans so that we can see just how deeply inescapably sinful we are. His concluding line at the end of the chapter in verse 48 is be perfect therefore. As your father in heaven is perfect. So if you somehow managed to get through the next next 6 sermons unscathed, which should be amazing.

Then you get to this line, you cannot cross this line. Not even the pharisees could pretend there is perfect as their heavenly father is perfect. So, what do we do? Jesus says, unless our righteousness surpasses out of the Pharisees, we will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. I wanna enter the kingdom of heaven, don't you?

What are we gonna do? If we have any hope of entering the kingdom of heaven, we need a righteousness that is apart from the law. That's why I'll exploit a righteousness apart from the law. Back in Romans 3, there's this magnificent explanation from Paul that our righteousness comes from faith in Christ, not the law. And actually these verses tie a lot of the stuff that we've been looking at today.

So verse 21, but now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known. To which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between you or gentile. Pharisee.

You need to listen to this. You and the tax collector, there is no difference for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and all are justified freely by His grace. Through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. And then in verse 25, his Christ taking his seat on the throne of the Old Testament. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, old testament picture and language, through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith.

By faith. If you have faith in Jesus Christ and in his atoning work through the shedding of his blood for your sin, then you have the breastplate of righteousness If you have faith in Christ, you have righteousness that is apart from the law. It's not through works. So when we hear Jesus say, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees, don't think I've got to try harder. Run to Christ, who is Jehovah to Ken you, if you remember that sermon, Steve Levy gave us.

Last year. The lord our righteousness, the only way you are ever gonna have a righteousness that surpasses out of the pharisees, is through faith in Christ and in his work to fulfill the law and the prophets. That is how you have a righteousness that passes the righteousness of the pharisees. So final point, the doctor will see you now. We have a righteousness in Christ if we have faith in Him.

But there is still an essential place for obedience in God's law and in God's life in the Christian life. There's an essential place to be obedient to God in the Christian life, but It's a law written on our hearts. It's not just words on a page. We obey out of love for Jesus, and we obey to live up to what we've already attained. We're not obeying to attain something.

We're obeying because we have it, and we want to behave, and we want to love and serve God. And that thing is going to be worked out more in the next few weeks as we plunge into these 6 examples that Jesus is going to give. So I'm gonna let those preachers delve more into that. But what I wanna say to you is as we go into those sermons, Let Jesus take you in with a microscope to your heart. Let him be the surgeon who's going to shine the light closely and apply a dye to your heart, to show you your sin.

And actually, sometimes that's that's a hard thing to do, isn't it? To come before God, to to let him talk to us about adultery, to let him talk to us about anger, to let him talk to us about loving enemies. Those are difficult things, and sometimes it could be painful. But actually, Jesus doesn't do this simply to shame us or squash us or make us feel guilty. He's doing it because he's ready to cut it out.

Cut the cancer out. I wanna show you this is a sin I want to help you. So come to the evening service over the next few weeks, ready to see this doctor, who's the lion of Judah. Is the root of David. He's triumphed.

If you have faith in him, you have a righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the pharisees. He's fulfilled the law and the prophets. He's able to open the scroll of God's salvation, become ready to see doctor Jesus. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the old testament and we thank you for how you were intricately setting the scene, law by law, profit by profit, to show us who Jesus is, and to show us his work.

We thank you as well that your laws reveal our sin. Without them, we wouldn't know we were sinful. We wouldn't come to you at all. But Thank you that you've bought us under your word, and you've shown us. Thank you for the prophets who spoke of this coming savior, who would save us from our sins.

And we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. You step down from heaven who left the throne to be slain for our sins. Please help us over the next few weeks as we look at these next examples, these next sermons. As we -- as you inspect our hearts, lord, and you find us wanting help us to to cling to the cross of Christ and to desire to be changed so we can obey you out of love. And to obey you to live up to what we've already attained in Christ.

We pray these things in his name, amen.