Fulfilled

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus makes clear that he came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his disciples what a "fulfilled" life looks like in practice. In this sermon series, we will be looking at key teachings from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, seeking to understand how Jesus' words apply to our lives today.

Sermon Outline

I. Divorce

II. Jesus' situation

III. Jesus' response

IV. God's redemption

V. God's redemption in our lives

"You have heard that it was said... But I say to you..."

This is a formula that Jesus uses repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount. In this formula, Jesus quotes a teaching from the Law of Moses and then states his own teaching. What is Jesus accomplishing with this formula, though?

At first glance, it can look like Jesus is undermining the Law of Moses, but that misses the point of what Jesus is actually doing. One commentator writes that "Jesus' proclamation of the will of God is the 'door' to the Old
Testament." It isn't that Jesus is undermining the Law of Moses, more so as open up the Law of Moses, and that values holding it up, to us.

Dale Bruner writes that, in Jesus' time, "contemporary teachers often said, 'But I say to you,' modestly, to contrast their remarks with those of other human teachers. But Jesus cites the OT Word of God . . ." With this understanding in mind, this formula isn't meant to lower the status of the Law of Moses, but to elevate Jesus' status as the authoritative teacher of the Law of Moses. Jesus doesn't cast aside the Law of Moses, so much as he explains the Law of Moses. And he is the only one who can adequately explain God's intent behind the Law of Moses.

Jesus on Divorce

Jesus' teaching on divorce in Matthew 5:31-32 needs to be read alongside Matthew 19:3-9. (Cited Below.) Jesus ties his teaching back to creation. This displays for us the value behind Jesus' teaching. Originally, God made male and female as equal partners in the Garden. In fact, the Hebrew word for "helper" used to describe the woman in Genesis 2 is a word used to describe God at other parts of the Bible. A "helper" is clearly not a subordinate or a lesser partner.

In Jesus' time, God's intent had been thrown out the window. Women were discarded by men for no reason regularly, often with catastrophic results for the woman. With his teaching on divorce, Jesus is combating this practice and lifting up the value of women, so that his followers value women as equal partners in God's mission, just as God intended in the garden.

Jesus' teaching makes men responsible for the consequences of the divorce, not women. This was a revolutionary teaching in Jesus' time, but one that, according to Jesus, reflects God's will from creation.

NEXT STEPS

1. Make a list of the areas in your life you want God to redeem.

2. Now make a second list of the areas of your life, or the lives of others, that you have seen God already redeem.

3. Looking at the second list, what did God do in each situation?

4. Looking at the first list, can you start to see signs of redemption in the area(s) you listed?

5. Lift both lists up to God in prayer, thanking God for the redemption seen in the second list and asking God to redeem the first list entirely.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Reflect on the idea of "Redemption." What example or definition would you use to describe "redeeming" someone or something?

2. What examples of God's redemption have you seen in the lives of others?

3. What examples of God's redemption have you seen in your own life?

4. Are there challenges that make it difficult for you to believe God can redeem all things? What are they?

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