Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

There were 400 years of silence between the last Old Testament writings and Jesus’s birth — not a single word from God during a time the Israelites were ruled by various empires and witness to significant political and cultural shifts shaping the world their promised Messiah would one day enter. Can you imagine the game of Telephone that ensued during those years?

If you’ve never played, Telephone’s a silly game where a message is whispered from one person to the next; the final version is often significantly different from the original. In just moments, the message sent (or what’s emphasized in it) between a few people changes immensely. This particular game of Telephone would have been played over hundreds of years by thousands of people.

All these years later, it’s easy to see what got emphasized: keeping the law perfectly (all 613 rules). Hundreds of times in the Old Testament God’s people were told to remember their God (His faithfulness, His dependability, His LOVE). Yet, what got passed down with the greatest emphasis was dependence on keeping the Law; the understood path to righteousness before God was more important than faith in God.

Then Jesus shows up to set the record straight. In Matthew 5, Jesus sees the crowd, goes up to the mountainside, and sits down. He didn’t stand over them; He sat with them and began teaching them a new way of living, the way of Jesus. Throughout, Jesus says, “You’ve heard it said… but I tell you…“. And with everything they’d heard or thought they knew, Jesus flips upside down (or right side up) for the first time. He speaks of humility, mercy, and purity of heart. He teaches love for enemies, generosity without recognition, and trust in God rather than worry over stuff. He challenges their reliance on the Law and pushes them toward a deeper understanding of righteousness, prioritizing the posture of their hearts (ex. anger and lust).

Jesus declares He did not come to eliminate the Law but to complete it. He was helping them understand the whole point of the law is LOVE — God’s love for them and their love for others. It was never meant to attain God’s acceptance, because righteousness isn’t earned by effort. The Law highlights our need for God’s grace and points us to the only righteous One, Jesus! When this truth roots deeply in our hearts, it transforms the way see God, His Kingdom, and transforms the way we live in response.

There are so many important (challenging) truths from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). I hope you’ll use S.O.A.P. to dig deep over the next couple of days! As you do, I encourage you with a simple lens through which to study — the lens of the Gospel. If, as you read, you feel burdened by guilt over having failed in some way (or like me, in many ways!), take heart! Who Jesus is and what He did on our behalf orients everything in this incredible sermon. Paul’s words in Romans 7 have been mine, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me …?” But as I remember that Jesus is my righteousness and I am bound to Him and freed from a perfect record with the Law, I think of Paul’s next words: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Then my heart is filled with peace and gratitude, and I am compelled by this Gospel of grace to respond with my whole life.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your faithful love, for keeping Your promises, and for sending Jesus - The Way, The Truth, and The Life. May the posture of our lives reflect the posture of our hearts toward You, Your Kingdom, and the way of our Savior, Jesus. Amen.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.
• SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
• OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises? 
• APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you? 
• PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.
  

The Way of Jesus: 7 Marks of Discipleship

As we begin a new series, we encourage you to lean into the 7 Marks of Discipleship each week. The 7 Marks of Discipleship provide a simple tool to help us identify areas where we are thriving in our calling and where we can grow. Check here each week for a new 7 Marks Challenge that will encourage you to follow Jesus closer every day.