Today as we study Matthew 6:1-18, let us reflect on three things: 1. Giving 2. Prayer 3. Fasting. Why do we need to study these three matters together? These three things are covered by the same principle. As we can see in Matthew 6:1, the Lord says “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
After David won the battle against Goliath, he officially entered life’s arena. From a lowly shepherd, he turned into the nation’s hero. However, this lasted for only a short period of time. Before long, he became Saul’s greatest enemy. For at least ten years Saul pursued and tried to kill David. Yet this period became a time of great training for David. Chinese philosopher Mencius said that whenever heaven wants to give a man some great assignment, it will first refine the man’s willpower, allow him to experience fatigue, hunger and suffering, turning everything against him. It does this to test his will, firm up his disposition and develop his skills. This statement is truly applicable to David. The Lord dealt with David in this manner, allowing him through a period of refinement in order to equip him for the great task of ruling God’s people. From chapters 18 to 21, we discover that the Lord used four kinds of human relationships to refine David, for interpersonal relationship is the best method for refining a man.
If today, I tell you, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, and after the worship service, many come to me and tell me their heavy burdens – financial problems, marriage problems, problems regarding their children, problems in their work, etc.; I tell you, they will be disappointed, because I cannot solve any of their problems. They will surely say, “You are a liar, you could not even solve my problem.”
But 2000 years ago, before a big crowd, Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” In these 2000 years, many with heavy burdens have come to Jesus, laid their burdens before him, and found rest in Jesus.
The key point of Matthew 5:17-20 is: Our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law, meaning Jesus came to demonstrate the true meaning of the Law. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law added traditions to the Law. The Law + Traditions is the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, as a result, God’s Law lost its intended meaning.
Jesus gave five examples to explain the point. We covered the first two in our previous sermon: (1.) about murder v.21-26 (2.) about adultery and divorce v.27-32. Today, we would like to study the other three examples: (3.) about taking oaths in verses 33-37; (4.) about an eye for an eye in verses 38-42, and (5.) about loving one’s enemies in verses 43-47.
