Anger is Murder

Matthew 5:21-22
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Ephesians 4:26-27
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.

Psalms 4:4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

Murder begins in the thoughts and intents of the heart as anger, and indeed the anger itself is murder. So we are all guilty of murder from within if we do not deal with anger that the adversary revels in. As David said, we should stop and think over what and why we are angry at another, calming and not acting spitefully to others in return - but rather giving the anger and the situation to God, finding peace and humility in Christ. This is never easy, but essential.

Law Fulfilled in Christ to Follow

Matthew 5:17-20
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus did not usher in a new covenant (testament) that negated the law, He fulfilled it in being completely obedient from the deeds and intent of it all. He told us it is summed up by loving God with all we have and are, and subsequently loving others as ourselves. Then He remakes us, putting this law in our hearts, for we need spiritual strength to live this way as we become more like Him as we live and breathe in Him. The religious leaders missed this, and so we are told to do better, trusting His ability and enabling, choosing to trust, follow, and obey out of love in Jesus' righteousness.

Salt and Light Glorify God

Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

We are to give the flavor of reconciliation in Christ as His ambassadors, preserving life to those who hear and repent towards the gift of saving faith. If we cease doing this, we are tasteless and allow corruption to go unchecked. Likewise, we are to shine by deed and word this good news of reconciliation, not hiding the message that illuminates the soul, but blazing openly with truth in love. This gives the glory, honor, and praise justly due to the God who made us all and who owns us who belong to Him - bought at such a price!

Persecuted Peacemakers

Matthew 5:9-12
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

God is pleased when we take the difficult and narrow road to do our part to make peace, knowing we cannot guarantee resolution - yet also aware we could make matters worse by saying nothing or even stirring things up more. When we so live godly in Christ and speak the good news, persecution and attacks will certainly come our way. We will be defamed and slandered because they see our great God and Savior in us; but joy should override persecution as heaven rejoices when we honor and glorify God and become more as He originally created us to be, reflecting His hand.

The Poor and Pure of God

Matthew 5:3-8
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

What makes God and us happy? When we live as He made and called us to be and to do. He knows when pride does not rule us, but joyous humility; He comforts us when we are pulled down by our sin and the sin of those not knowing Him. So do we yearn for conformity to Christ more than our food each day? Do we show mercy to those who hurt us and others, deserving only just accountability? If we learn to follow Jesus, we will find purity as we then become more holy because and as He is. Then we will gaze upon His face, unashamed in our redemption and sanctification.

Jesus Taught and Preached

Matthew 4:23-5:2
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Jesus began by teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom, first in the synagogues, the Jewish equivalent of a church. He showed who He was by miraculous healing, but the large number of people following were listening to His words that gave life. So the close followers came to Him as He went from the masses to a mountain to sit down. And Jesus taught them many things of the kingdom that all pointed to our hearts with points of truth, armed with conviction and comfort.

God Alone Opens Our Eyes

John 9:30-33
30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

Jesus did not allow the blind man to not see His work; the religious leaders refused to take Jesus at His word (trust, faith), and closed their eyes to the ones He opened. This sight was given not by works but solely by grace freely given as God chose to do. How many now refuse to accept God's sovereignty over their own cure for spiritual blindness - salvation by grace through the gift of faith that cannot be intellectually reasoned out. They also will "cast out" the one who says even our 'free' will is a free gift of grace that enables us to have faith to choose.

Immediately Follow and Fish for Men

Matthew 4:19-20,22
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.... 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

When Jesus called for chosen men to follow after Him, they immediately (eutheōs denotes something that is done without delay) did so at a high cost. They left family (father), their means of work (boat), and the tools needed for their trade (nets). This meant turning away from their normal life with nothing, and putting all trust in the Lord who was so worthy to abandon all else for in this life. This seems radical to us, but if He calls us are we ready to do this? Do we follow, or are other things more important? Do we delay to obey, whether or not we must go elsewhere as we follow?

The Great Light of Men

Matthew 4:16-17
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

When Jesus comes to us, it is as if death's night is suddenly bathed with the indescribable light of the dawning day after a night seemingly without end. This is when we hear Jesus begin with a message to repent, to turn from sin and toward Him, with the realization that heaven's King has brought His kingdom before us. We can listen and turn with our heart and mind, or we can turn to walk away. One wide way leads everywhere but nowhere except in death's shadow, but the other way is the single narrow gate to eternity with Him in that light that rises never to set again.

Serve and Worship God Alone

Matthew 4:8-10
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Deuteronomy 6:13-14
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you

No matter what we are offered or we pursue before us, if it becomes a thing to worship as an idol of sorts, then we violate the first command to worship and serve God alone. So we are not to run after these other things if we truly know and thus worship the true and living God of all. Just because everyone else runs after wealth, power, and position is no reason to stop fearing God and honoring Him with all our heart.

It is Written: Don't Tempt God

Matthew 4:5-7
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

Psalms 91:9-11
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

Deuteronomy 6:16-17
16 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you.

The adversary is good at twisting God's word to the opposite, out of context. When we make the Lord our place to live and seek refuge when needed, He is there - but not when we tempt Him and put ourselves in danger to test His faithfulness. We are to trust and obey Him completely. Not put our lives in danger to see "if" He will intervene. That is not faith nor obedience.

Hunger for Godliness

Matthew 4:1-4
If we are hungry, yet God gives us what we actually need (not just desire), do we pass the test?  Or do we listen to the grumbling of the tempter who tests us to lead us away from trusting wholly in a holy God?  All that God has written for us in His word to us is sufficient in all hunger and every need we come across in life.  The real temptation is to desire elsewhere.  As He tells us, godliness with contentment is great gain.

Blameless and Obedient

Matthew 3:15-17
Jesus did all that was required by the law to be blameless, obedient to the Father, and then shown to be aligned with God the Spirit.  This parallels us as believers in a sense, in that we must (after repenting), obey to please Him as we have been reborn to have His Spirit fill us out as we walk with Him. Jesus was well pleasing to the Father.  We should be as well.

Inward Change

Matthew 3:8-12
When Jesus changes a man, that one becomes fruitful, no longer practicing unrighteousness as a way of life, but seeking to do what is right from the inside spirit of the renewed man (though stumbling often as well).   We are known by our inward borne fruits, not by outward suits of works covering unregenerate hearts if we are truly His, reborn out of sincere repentance and living, active faith in Jesus for our righteousness.

Set a Straight Course to Christ

Matthew 3:1-6
The way leading to Christ is repentance; knowing our sin and God's just nature, we all must first begin turn to walk straight, setting course away from all He says is sin and to instead live to please Him.  But the sins must be acknowledged and we must realize that our repentance from sinful acts and turning towards Christ will not earn forgiveness; only His work on the cross, proven in the resurrection, can ever deliver us from sin and its penalty of eternal judgement in the lake of fire.

Seek to Worship the King!

Matthew 2:1-8
Those seeking Jesus after He was born into this world were sincere, desiring to worship Him as God become man.  Herod was driven by the adversary because he believed about Jesus, but not in Him - that is, not with a broken heart that saw the need to be delivered from sin.  So he lied about worship as feared instead of revered Jesus.  Search for Him to worship the King of kings, not in fear of judgment, but in hope of grace and mercy.

God Come to Live Among Us

Matthew 1:20-25
Jesus. God is salvation.  Immanuel.  God is with us.  He had God as Father, not man - Joseph did not have relations with Mary until Jesus was born in order to eliminate all doubt that He was God's Son.  But the amazing part is that His name revealed He was God become man to live among us and within us, becoming salvation because we could never do everything good to earn it.  None is righteous but God Himself, and He came to ultimately prove it by paying our price and rising from the dead.

Bloodline of Sin Healed by God Himself

Matthew 1:3-16
The grace of forgiveness in Christ is seen in the women Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba; they all were sinners as we all are, and yet an integral part of the line leading to the fleshly side of Jesus the Christ.  But Joseph was not His father: God was.  God showed a lineage promised through Abraham and David, but revealed that flesh could not suffer, die, and rise again to save us from sin (Jesus' name's meaning).  God's "bloodline" broke the curse of sin by the Holy Spirit stepping in for the man Joseph.  As the Son of God and man, we find the promised redemption at the right time.  See Galatians 4:4-7.