MATTHEW 5:17,18 – FULFILLMENT and SATISFACTION

v17  “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

v18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Although Jesus’ coming has fulfilled and satisfied all the requirement of the Torah, the Law, and it would appear that the ‘old covenant has passed away’,

Jesus is clearly saying the Law of the Torah for the has not been abolished but the requirements of the Law are now met or satisfied through Him.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Jesus is once again describing the connection between heaven (The Spiritual) and earth (the natural) and saying it is not finished until the natural laws have completely demonstrated or manifested the Spiritual. Once again, teaching about the “Law of Higher to lesser”.

This is critically important. Jesus is telling His present and future disciples about “secret of knowing” if you are truly His disciple. This will, of course, determine whether you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

Jesus says two things, in Matthew 5:19 and 5:20

(1)  v19 “Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Being “least in the kingdom of heaven” versus being “great in the kingdom of heaven” is, again, the law of “Great to lesser”. He is saying you cannot manifest the Greater Works of the Kingdom from the “lesser position”, i.e., in the natural man. But, when standing on the Spiritual basis, you will do the works Jesus does and GREATER works!

(2) v20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees were working through the natural mind (the lesser).
“Surpassing righteousness” means to super abound (in quantity or quality), to be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to super abound. This can only be accomplished through the Spiritual.

NOTE: Unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

The fact that not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished, and this tells us that “It Is Written” and it will come to pass. 

Our choice is either to join God in what He has already accomplished or to be left behind.  Choose wisely.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

An excellent explanation and video of “The Law”:  https://bibleproject.com/learn/the-law/

So, what are you doing in the Kingdom from God’s point of view (not from man’s inventions or visions)?  If you are ready, contact me, please, and let’s do this!

(Previous Post from Matthew chapter 5 – https://whitestone2020.com/2021/01/08/the-light-shines/)

MATTHEW 5:15,16 – LIGHT SHINES

Verse 15.  “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Verse 16. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Jesus is using an extreme example and a simile to explain a profound Truth.  No sensible person will light a lamp only to hide it under a basket. So, naturally, you put a lamp on a lamp stand, so it is useful and effective. Similarly, your “light” (your goodness, truth and justice), in order to be useful and effective, must shine or be seen in such a way to glorify God, Who is in heaven. (give God all the credit).

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

What comes next is critically important. Jesus describes the realty of the relationships between the Spiritual and the Natural realms. They are spoken of in parable, but, they are real.

There are both separation and connection between the Spiritual realm (the Kingdom of Heaven) and the natural realm of the world.  This is important for the Christian disciple to understand because any effort to “do the works of Jesus” are based on understanding these principles.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

Hebrews 11;1,2  “reveals to us that that FAITH is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  It is by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

It is impossible to permanently affect or change the natural world from evil into good with just human effort or by our natural understanding.  We must begin on the Spiritual basis and the natural will follow – the natural must obey the Spiritual.  This is God’s Spiritual law of creation.  It is how He made the worlds.  It is known as “the order of Higher to the lesser”.  The natural must obey the Spiritual, or another way of saying is the Spiritual is always manifest into the natural and never the other way around.

NOTE: Scriptures warn us that this does not come easily.  It is “the fervent prayers of a righteous man which accomplishes much.

Jesus teaches this often and just as often it is overlooked and therefore misapplied or not applied in our Kingdom practices, at all.

In this particular teaching, Jesus says that “people do not light a lamp and put it under a basket, but they put it on a lamp stand, so it will give light to all who are in the house.”

It is important to recognize that (1) the “people” Jesus is referring to, at this point, are Israelites or Jews who are becoming His disciples; and the (2) “the house” is the House of Israel. So, those who are hearing His words immediately recognize the significance of His Words and their inclusion in this teaching.

This is also true for any and all future Christians. In other words, Jesus is talking directly to you and me and all of His disciples, that is, those who follow and wish to obey Him.

Jesus, next, moves from the Spiritual basis in verse 14 to the natural in verses 15 and 16. He is stating a Spiritual Truth in verse 14 and then describing what the looks like or how it behaves in the natural world, by way of metaphor. This give the natural mind a way to understand a Spiritual Truth and, hopefully, a way to grasp this teaching so to apply it.

I.e., WHAT IS SEEN (natural realm) = COMES FROM WHAT IS NOT VISIBLE (Spiritual realm). It has been spoken into being by God.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

It is not your light but the Eternal Light of God dwelling within you.  Will you step out of the shadows and Let His “Light” illuminate the entire house?

This is our calling!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Previous Post from Matthew The law of being

Next Post from Matthew Satisfaction

MATTHEW 5:14 – YOU ARE

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Jesus is speaking in the language of a metaphor. He is saying that His disciples are to be like light which is meant to illuminate goodness, truth and justice and to dispel the darkness of evil, error and fear. His disciples are to be like a city set on a mountaintop, visible to all, radiating the light of God’s character, His goodness, mercy and justice.

Jesus is stating a Spiritual Truth and a fact. He is not suggesting what you should be. He is stating what you are as a follower of Christ Jesus – if you are His disciple at all.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

An important word here is the small word “ARE” found in the statement “You are the light of the world…”. This is the Greek word “Eimi”, which is a basic Greek verb expressing the state of BEING, i.e. “to be” – am, is. Strong’s #1510 (eimí), defines this word and its counterparts, as properly conveying existence, without explicit limits. It translates “to exist, to live, to stay, remain in place”.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

When you have become “poor in spirit” through God’s process of sanctification and thereby become an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 5:3), God fashions you into His image (poieo). He now resides in you and He is seen, and He does His Works through your mortal body as “The Light of the World”.

People may say they see your good deeds, but what they are seeing is God through you – literally.  The importance of this cannot be overstated.  If you are His disciple at all, you are to be seen in His Image.

Jesus says, that if you are to enter into a covenant agreement and to follow Him, that is, to be His disciple, you must know that the standards are impossibly high, the disciplines are impossibly strict and the commitment is for life.  And, He warns, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”, and that “MY RIGHTEOUS ONES WILL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF THEY SHRINK BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN THEM”.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Will you be made Into His Image and be His Witness (martus) or will you shrink back?

These are urgent times which call for urgent measures.  Please, let’s measure up!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

The next post from Matthew 5 https://whitestone2020.com/2021/01/08/the-light-shines/

The previous post from Matthew 5 https://whitestone2020.com/2021/01/04/being-jesus-disciple/

Matthew 5:13 – Jesus’ Disciples

Jesus was direct in His speech and in His teaching, especially when talking to and teaching His disciples. Read Matthew 5:13 as He tells His disciples,

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Imagine with me that you, as a disciple of Jesus, are sitting with Him as He talks to you and others.  He has just finished describing the difficulties of becoming His disciple and entering the Kingdom of God.

Now, He calls you “salt of the earth”.

The most common and important seasoning in Israel was salt (Job 6:6), demonstrated by how it is referenced throughout the Bible, and by how its use was mandated with most sacrifices (Leviticus 2:13). You would have been referred to as a person who, like salt, was precious. In Jesus’ day, salt was a valued commodity. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt, giving rise to the phrase “worth his salt.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Jesus is saying that, like salt, His disciples would have a preserving influence. Salt was used to preserve and to slow decay. Likewise, Christians should have a preserving influence on their culture.

Disciples, like salt, should add flavor to their community, making the earth a purer and more palatable place to live.

Then, without pausing, He looks directly at you and says, “But, if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?”

The word “tasteless” was a familiar word to the Jewish audience of that day as to mean “to be foolish, to turn to foolishness, tainted, and thus: tasteless, made useless.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

So, the question with which you are faced is

“If you, as a disciple of Jesus, who should be a preserving influence and a purifying influence on those around you, have lost those qualities and thus, have become useless as a disciple of Jesus, how you can be made useful again?”

This borders on shocking, almost an indictment. The question Jesus is asking is a direct interrogatory. In other words, “if you know of a way, tell me, because there is no way.”

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Then, as if to hammer the point home, Jesus bluntly says, ”It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.”  Staying with the metaphor of salt, at that time, garbage would have been disposed by throwing it out, into the street. This explains why once the salt is cast out it will be trodden under the foot of men as useless garbage. A stark warning to the disciples as to the commitment required to follow Jesus as His disciple and the consequence of failure.

He is saying that if you are going to enter into a covenant agreement to follow Jesus as His disciple, the standards are impossibly high, the disciplines are impossibly strict and the commitment is for life.

We should be reminded of another time Jesus was talking to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

And looking at them, Jesus said, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Disciples’ Reward

Somehow, you would expect it would be Peter to respond to Jesus and boldly ask, “We have left everything and followed You; what is in this for us?”

Jesus answered Peter and said, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, now in this life, and in the age to come, will inherit eternal life.”

The good news is that God is eternally faithful to finish the work He has begun in you. He is rich in grace and abounding in mercy and loving kindness. Jesus reminds you that His burden is light and, His yoke is easy and that all who come to Him will find rest for their soul, and He will in no way cast you out.

Now that you know a little more, will you follow Him?  He is calling.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

The next post from Matthew 5:  The Law of Being

The previous post from Matthew 5:  Blessed, blessed, blessed