Lead In: Last week we moved into Jesus' words in Matthew 5:33-37 to see Him, yet again, explaining the true meaning of the law. Bearing with the weaknesses of His students, Jesus Christ, the true teacher, explained that the way we speak is of utmost importance. Remember, the Pharisees had developed an oath taking system that allowed them to work-around God’s moral law in an attempt to convince other people that they were, in fact, reliable. They would invoke something else t

Lead In: Continuing to move through Matthew 5 we see Jesus once again correcting the generally accepted understanding of the law. In v.17-20 He announces that He did not abolish the law of God, preempting any arguments that might arise when He moves into the rest of this chapter. Remember, the Pharisees and Scribes had been molding the words of God to try and use their own works, their own actions, to prove how holy they were, all the while spreading their heresy to the peo

Last Week, we took a glimpse into the life altering reality of divorce. We saw that, just as they had done with other laws, The Pharisees were molding and shaping the words of God according to their own standards in terms of divorce. They would take the permission that God gave for divorce in Deut. 24:1-4 and run with it to the furthest extreme; breaking apart a marriage for any grounds they saw fit; spitting upon His mercy, grace, and patience. To see this more clearly, we