Sunday School Lesson For April 18, 2010
CONNECTING IN COMMUNITY
Devotional Reading : Romans 5:1-11
Background Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20; 22:34-40
Printed Text: Matthew 5:17-20; 22:34-40
BACKGROUND:
This chapter in Matthew follows on the heels of Jesus being tempted by the devil in Chapter Four. It also follows the choosing of most, if not all, Jesus’ disciples. Now “disciple” is another word for “student”, and these men were, in fact, students. They were learning a new way of life. Jesus had summoned them from the “multitudes” that now followed Jesus’ every move. He had “called them out of the crowd”, as He often does us today. And when it was time for Jesus to teach them, He separated them physically from the onlookers, climbed a hill, and had them sit at His feet...
Now these men were no different than those who remained at a distance; in fact, but for the love of Jesus, they would still be with that crowd. But Jesus had something special in mind for these men, and in order for them to live out that purpose, training was necessary. So Jesus began a three-year “crash” course on the “new” Law. It was new, yet not new. It was a way by which the “old” law could be kept perfectly through a combination of commitment and forgiveness – anchored by love. It was, in fact, what the Pharisees so desperately sought, but failed to accomplish in all their legalistic efforts...
INTRODUCTION:
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) has been hailed through the ages at the greatest sermon ever preached. Scholars argue whether it was delivered in one “sitting” or whether it was done in several segments. The answer to such a technical question is not of great importance here; what IS important is what Jesus was trying to impart in His teachings. Jesus had to provide answers to those who questioned His authority as well as his motives. Was He coming with some “new” law? Did He have no respect for the “teachers” of the law (Pharisees and Sadducees)? It was important for Jesus to early on in His sermon explain His purposes...
JESUS’ DECLARATION:
Matthew 5:17-20
Why was Jesus so emphatic about His not coming to destroy the law? It is possible that this concern on the part of local church leaders goes back to Jesus in the Temple at age twelve (Luke 2:41-50). It was there that the “Doctors of Law” were astonished at His understanding. It may have been there that the original seed of suspicion was planted concerning Jesus’ earthly ministry...
But Jesus set the record straight from the beginning: no matter what others might claim, He was not on earth to destroy the law. The problem was that no one up to that point had been able to perfectly fulfill it, and Jesus was going to make that fulfillment possible. Of course, the law as it then stood was to bring mankind to the time of John the Baptist (cf. Luke 16:16, 17). After that, Jesus would arrive on the scene and make salvation possible...
Just as it is today, in Jesus’ earthly days men had determined in their own minds “little” and “big” sins. Of course, Jesus quickly put that idea to rest when he emphasized the importance of the “least” commandment. Of course, man had arrived at what he thought were little and big transgressions...
Now the only thing worse than committing transgressions to the law was to teach others to do so as well. There is an inherent warning here about dragging others into our sins. Of course when one considers the facts, it is seldom that one can sin in a proverbial vacuum. In other words, it is almost impossible to sin in such a way that absolutely no one else is affected. That means that in almost every case, when one sins, he also teaches others to do so as well...
Look now at verse 20. First of all, for clarification, “Pharisees and scribes” are not necessarily two separate groups. A “scribe” was simply an expert in the law (sometimes referred to as a lawyer), and could be either a Pharisee or a Sadducee...
But just what was wrong with the “righteousness” of the scribes and Pharisees? The Interpreter’s Bible explains: “…it (their “righteousness) was adjusted to the capabilities of mankind, and it made allowances for weakness of human nature and the demands made on man by his environment.” With that in mind, the Pharisees taught that man would in the end be judged on the majority of his deeds...
Jesus stated flatly that His disciples must do better than that...
SCHEME AND OUTCOME:
Matthew 22:34-40
We now move from the relatively peaceful scene atop a mountain in Galilee to the third day of Passion Week (Tuesday) as church leaders are planning the “downfall” (and death) of Jesus. Jesus has appeared in the Temple for the last time before His Death. It was here that He faced the Sadducees (Mathew 22:23-33). It was the Sadducees that generally ran the day-to-day operation of the Jerusalem Temple...
Our verses open by the recognition by the Pharisees that Jesus had put the Sadducees to shame. And while the Pharisees were probably impressed, they pounced on the occasion to shame Jesus. They came with a carefully planned attack, probably calling on their best lawyer to pose a question to Jesus. It was not uncommon for such a question to spark a debate of Scripture for hours, or even days. It was of these kinds of “debates” that the Jewish Talmud was made (the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Law)...
But Jesus took the question and answered in such a way that the lawyer could do no better than to be silent. Jesus answered the question before Him by quoting from the Jewish Shema – the opening Scripture of each Synagogue service (Deuteronomy 6:5ff). It is interesting that while many were accusing Jesus of destroying the Law, He was in fact insisting on it being kept – not generally – but completely. But Jesus was not yet finished. He went a step further than asked. He followed His declaration concerning the greatest commandment with His pinpointing of the second (but equal) greatest commandment. This he quotes from portions of Leviticus 19:18...
Keep in mind that when Jesus uses the word “love”, He is talking about the kind of love that comes from God; the kind of love that IS God. Get that love in your heart and you will do little wrong; and when you do err, the Blood of the Lamb will cover you....
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