Uncomfortable Revelations
The word of God can challenge us in ways that make us uncomfortable. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus declares that He has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Then, He begins saying phrases like verse 21-22, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…” He begins challenging the accepted interpretations of the time and correcting them with God’s intention.
The Jews during the time of Jesus had many Rabbis from the past couple centuries that taught and wrote down their thoughts and those thoughts had been revered in such a way that they were treated much like inspired scripture. Others accepted it simply because it was what had been taught by these honored Rabbis. Jesus begins teaching in a way the people had not heard – with authority. He didn’t quote a Rabbi. He didn’t reference them or even necessarily agree with them. He taught truth. He challenged the accepted teaching of the day. “But I say to you…” was Jesus saying that you have been taught something but it’s incomplete or wrong. Let me tell you the truth.
Before we give the Jews a lot of grief for this, let’s remember how easy this trap is. For them, there had been a call many years before to come back to God and be faithful. That call was heeded and out of it came many teachers whose desire was to follow God’s laws faithfully. However, they were men and they made some mistakes along the way. Mistakes that became the accepted interpretation. This is what Jesus is correcting. When we think of how that happened, can you see how easy that trap is? We say we want to follow God’s will completely and faithfully, and that is a righteous goal! The Bible must always be the authority and not uninspired men.
There will always be those who twist the scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:19), but let’s not be one of them! As Peter goes on to say, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Growth from diligence. Growth from truth. Growth from seeking God’s will.
We have had many wonderful teachers in the Lord’s kingdom. There are men I value very highly for their knowledge and ability to expound on the word of God, but they are men. They are uninspired. They can make mistakes. The moment we take the word of men before the word of God, we fall into the same trap those Jews in the days of Jesus did. We miss the true intention of God’s communication to us. We focus on the wrong things. Let’s listen to God through His word – even when it’s uncomfortable and challenging.