Monday 19th February
Read Matthew 5:1-2
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.” (NIVUK)
It is easy to think that us Christians are no longer bound by the Law revealed through Moses, the ancient Torah. All of those rules are no longer relevant and we can safely consider them historical and theological curiosities. As we approach Easter and consider what that season requires of us, we will spend time working through the greatest sermon ever recorded: the Sermon on the Mount.
We will be challenged in ways that those familiar with the Torah would find truly horrifying. The demands made by Jesus are far more outrageous than those found in the Torah. He demands God-like perfection (cf Matthew 5:48). He demands personal holiness of a magnitude only ever really demanded of the high priest of God’s people.
The Sermon on the Mount deliberately, consciously, (and scarily) updates and upgrades the Law revealed through Moses. Those echoes are seen even in the introductory words. Jesus went ‘up on the mountain’, just as Moses did when receiving the Torah. A remarkably rare phrase, used only three times in Exodus (Exodus 19:3; 24:18; 34:4), and always to describe Moses ascending Mount Sinai in front of God’s many people.
The conclusion is inescapable, Jesus is presented as the new Moses, delivering the new Law for God’s people, so that God’s rule would be present on earth as it is in heaven. As we approach Easter and consider Jesus’ words let’s resolve to pursue holiness.
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven/
