Read Along
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder.’
Most people on that hillside had never killed anyone. They could hear that commandment and relax. Then Jesus says, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” And He puts two words, “You fool!”, in the same paragraph as murder.
A few sentences later, He does the same thing with adultery. He takes it all the way back to a look. Then He tells His listeners that if an eye or a hand causes them to stumble, they should gouge it out or cut it off.
This is episode four of twelve on the Sermon on the Mount. Last time, Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fill it full, and that the righteousness He wants goes deeper than the Pharisees’, from the outside of the cup to the inside. This time, Matthew five, verses twenty-one to thirty. Two commandments, murder and adultery, and Jesus follows each one from the hand back to the heart.
Start with how Jesus introduces them. “You have heard that it was said.”
Notice it’s heard, not read. Few people in that crowd owned a scroll. They heard the Law read aloud. “The people long ago” most likely means the generation at Mount Sinai, where God spoke the Ten Commandments.
Hearing it read aloud is how most people met the Ten Commandments. In Acts, James says that “the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Become a supporter to keep going
Hear and read all of Episode 4, plus every new one. Your support keeps 250+ YouTube videos free.