Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 4Sample

Matthew 5 - 7 has become known as the Sermon on the Mount. This was the message Jesus preached as he went around from town to town, announcing the Kingdom of God. And the first hearers were astonished.

But what did they mean when they said, "He taught as someone with authority, not as the scribes“?

I think, firstly, the scribes taught people to up their game in the observance of the Law in order to be ready for the coming of God’s kingdom. In contrast to that, Jesus announced that the kingdom of God is arriving in and through what He is doing. That’s authority.

Jesus also reinterpreted the law of Moses to show what the law actually wanted to accomplish in people’s lives. Then He diagnosed the problem with Israel, and that includes all of humanity. It was not the law; it was the hearts of the hearers. But Jesus claimed through what He is doing, even the heart problem of Humanity would be taken care of. That, of course, was the promise God made through Jeremiah about the new covenant.

Jesus made claims about what was happening in and through what He was doing. Either He was delusional, or what God promised through the prophets He himself would do, was happening through Jesus.

That’s what we believe! We believe Jesus is Lord – we believe in the authority of Jesus and in His type of authority. And because we believe we are part of the people God is using to bring His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.