Message Notes

INTRODUCTION

1. Many did not fully understand the Lord Jesus Christ

2. He was certainly different from the other religious leaders in Israel then

3. How the religious structure looked like in those days:

a) There was a Jewish Council called (Sanhedrin Council)

b) It was made up of 71 leaders/ elders

c) It was headed by the high priest

4. There were other types of leaders

a) Teachers

b) Scribes

c) Pharisees

d) Sadducees

e) Priests

f) Synagogue leaders

5. The problem:

a) The Lord Jesus was none of the above

b) But He had things that others did not possess

i) Power to heal

ii) Authority to cast out demons

iii) He had formidable knowledge of the Scriptures

iv) He had profound skills in teaching the Scriptures

MANY ATTACKS MADE AGAINST THE LORD JESUS

1. Many tried to say things against Him

2. They called Him names

3. They called Him a law-breaker

4. Some feared that He had come to destroy the law of God

THE DEFENCE OF THE LORD JESUS

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

1. Understanding this statement of the Lord Jesus

a) An open declaration

b) Plainly stated

c) Clear and straightforward

2. The phrase “The law and the prophets”

a) This was a common term to describe the Scriptures

b) The Law is a reference to the teachings of Moses

c) The Prophets is a reference to the teachings of the prophets

3. The true breakers of the law and the prophets

a) The Sadducees

b) They rejected the Prophetic books

c) They accepted only the books written by Moses

d) But they were still members of the Sanhedrin Council

e) They were wealthy and had great influence in Israel

4. The fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets

a) The Scriptures were meant to be fulfilled

b) The word “fulfillment”

i) The word was to be practised in life

ii) The Scriptures were designed to be lived out

5. The Lord Jesus had come not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it

a) The life of the Lord Jesus was outstanding and exemplary

b) He lived out the truth of the Scriptures

6. The people who broke the Law and the Prophets

a) The Pharisees and Sadducees

b) They paid “lip-service” to the Scriptures

c) They did not fulfil the Scriptures much

d) The Lord Jesus would later call them “hypocrites”

THE PROPER REGARD FOR THE SCRIPTURES

18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one [c]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.

Matthew 5: 18-20

1. This was an important truth the Lord Jesus wanted to impart to His Disciples

2. They must have a proper regard for the Scriptures!

3. Vital aspects of the Scriptures to be understood and remembered:

a) The word of God will never pass away

b) It is forever established

c) The Scriptures should not be broken by anyone

i) Whoever teaches people to break the law, that person is not esteemed by God at all

ii) Whoever teaches and practises the keeping of the Law of God
That person is esteemed greatly by the LORD

d) The people who were guilty of breaking the law and teaching wrong things:

i) Scribes

ii) Pharisees

iii) Sadducees

4. True righteousness

a) It must not be the kind of righteousness displayed by the Pharisees

b) Their so-called righteousness was false and hypocritical

c) True righteousness:

i) It is given by God when a person truly believes

ii) This is called “Imputed Righteousness”

iii) It is cultivated by the believer in his personal life

iv) He has an appropriately high regard for the Scriptures

v) He seeks to practise its truths

vi) He also teaches others to have the right regard for the Scriptures

vii) The Lord Jesus was very conscious of the fact that His Disciples must not end up like the Pharisees and the Sadducees

CONCLUSION

1. Let us be challenged to obtain imputed righteousness

2. Let us also be challenged to cultivate personal righteousness

3. It must include a proper and correct regard for the Holy Scriptures