"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
My thoughts -
There's some tough teaching here. First, recall how God, when dealing with Israel and Judah, would not accept their offerings, sacrifices, or worship if their lives were not lived within God's will. God did not desire token obedience from them nor did God desire that they fulfill some parts of the law and not others. What good is a ritualistic obedience absent a concern for others? What good is it to fulfill the letter of the law and to do that which is believed to be required absent a desire to serve God and to love and care for God's children?
We have a cultural view that holds God the Father as being an authoritative rather mean sort of a God and then Jesus as being really nice, really cool, really laid back in an anything goes kind of way that just wants to show us love. But in scripture here we have teachings of Jesus that ought to relieve us of that delusion.
Here Jesus is telling his followers that he has not come to take away any part of the law. In fact, he has come to address its shortcomings. He's filling in the loopholes. So, where the law says that you can't murder Jesus pushes that one step further. Not only can you not kill someone but you can't hate them. You can't be angry with them. You can't, in your relationships with others, dehumanize them in hatred and anger because that is a kind of murder.
Here you have Jesus echoing the prophets who spoke out against Israel and Judah's worship and offerings present absent right relationship with God and a desire to do God's will. Here Jesus tells his followers that if they have an issue with someone else they ought to leave their offering, don't present it, and deal with the issue with their neighbor. Their offerings, absent a right relationship with God and with others, are no good here. Make things right and then present the offering.
God desires us to live in a right relationship with him and with others. It's not enough to obey the letter of the law while not really desiring to do God's will. It is not enough to obey the letter of the law while having relationships with others strained by hatred, malice, anger and resentment. God wants us to be all in. Don't just do what is required. Desire to do God's will. Don't just not kill. Don't hate. Don't fulfill the letter of the law. Fulfill the spirit.
Where some may say that the law is too difficult to completely fulfill Jesus says it doesn't go far enough. This is not a feel good anything goes kind of a teacher. This is God's own son and God incarnate sent to set things straight, to make things right, and to bring us back into a right relationship with our Maker.
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