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Bible Reading Plan

Reading Plan: Matthew 5:17-26

The Fulfillment of the Law

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

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Daily Devotional: Counting Myself Out

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 5:17-20

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4

In Matthew 5, Jesus makes a statement that feels heavy: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees… you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Pharisees were the standard of discipline in that time. They lived by a rigid set of rules in an effort to ensure they were in control of their standing with God.

I tend to do the same, seek control that is, when life feels out of control. I was diagnosed with vitiligo in 2011, an autoimmune disease that causes the permanent loss of pigmentation in parts of your skin. I tried to control my situation by spiraling into medical research on nutrition, natural remedies, and more on website after website, which caused health fears for myself and my family. Those fears became more difficult to manage than the disease. I thought that if I could just master the information, if I could follow a strict enough law of wellness, I could fix it. But like the law in Romans 8, my efforts were “weakened by the flesh.” My research didn’t bring healing; it brought a crippling anxiety that revealed a deeper spiritual diagnosis: I didn’t truly trust God.

The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it for us—something we could never do.

After months of living with anxiety and fear, my husband finally urged me to get help. It was the first step in letting go of control. My counselor was also a chaplain, and in her chair, I began to experience a shift from trying to carry the weight of my health and my family’s health to trusting God with all of it. God knew that the things to come—losing my Mom in a really difficult way, walking through my husband’s cancer, and now my Dad’s—would require a strength I didn’t possess. 
I believe there are a lot of ways we can be transformed: it can be a single event, like a diagnosis or other life change, it can be a rock bottom that brings big clarity, it can be small, consistent changes that transform you fundamentally over time. For me, true transformation began when I stopped researching and started surrendering. It was a fundamental shift from counting on myself to counting on God. 

Next Steps

I have to intentionally count myself out over and over to put my trust in God. What areas of your life are you trying to control? What can you lay at the feet of Jesus?

We’ll be singing “Build My Life” as a congregation this month. It’s a powerful declaration of trust in God, I hope it encourages you too.