Bible Study on Matthew 5, verses 17 to 20, Jesus Christ is the fulfilling of God's Law

 

Matthew 5:17 ¶  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 

Jesus Christ is the fulfilling of the Law. He is our Law. He completes the Law. Christ fulfilled, completed Scripture and is the ultimate expression of God’s reconciling mankind to Himself. All of the things spoken of about Christ will be fulfilled. 

 

A jot, also jod, as I understand it, was the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and a tittle was an even smaller extension of a letter. Even the smallest consideration of the Law given to Moses is fulfilled in Christ and will be fulfilled in Christ. This should give us direction when interpreting the Law. But here, this is a revealing of what is to come and of who Christ is. It is an introduction so to speak to Christ as the Messiah.

 

Considering how righteous the Pharisees tried to be this is a tall order. The follower of Christ among the Jews must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees to be accepted. There are at least two ways of looking at this and probably more. This passage may be saying that under the Judaism that was current at that time God regarded the Pharisees’ dogma as falling short of His intentions. Paul would make this statement.

 

2Corinthians 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

 

And Jesus will note;

 

Matthew 22:34 ¶  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

The danger here, that the Pharisees fell into as do many Fundamentalists today, is to miss the point of the Law, to draw us to Christ, and focus on its dogmatic letter to elevate us and to exercise the all too human desire for self-glory and self-worship in self-righteousness.

 

Galatians 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Bible Study on Genesis 32, verses 24 to 32, a wrestling match

 

Genesis 32:24 ¶  And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27  And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29  And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31  And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32  Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

We do not know until later that when God appeared or walked with a person it was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word by which all things were created, the second part of God called the Son of God, the physical image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15). He is in other places called the angel of God or the angel of the LORD, the meaning of an angel being an appearance of someone who is also somewhere else, which we have seen (see Genesis, chapter 16, 21, 22, 31).

Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

God walked with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). He spoke to Noah (Genesis 6). He appeared to Abraham (Genesis 12, 17, 18). He appeared to Isaac (Genesis 26). God spoke to Jacob in a dream (Genesis 31). Here, God in the form of a man, which would be the preincarnate Jesus Christ, confronts Jacob when he is alone. They have this colossal wrestling contest. Wrestling is perhaps the oldest combat sport known to man.

Wrestling is mentioned in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, in Greek mythology, in Hindu, and Persian writings. It is depicted on very ancient cave art in Mongolia and on Egyptian tombs. Preachers have long played out this scene as an example of contending with God in prayer for something that you want.

Paul says that we contend against spiritual beings that inhabit the spaces above us.

Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

While any wrestling we do is spiritual in prayer and fighting our flesh this was a bonafide physical wrestling match in the flesh, at least for Jacob anyway. I would be careful talking about wrestling with God in prayer. We do not get things from God by trying to pin Him down in prayer or forcing something from Him. God’s mercy does not come to us through our force.

Ephesians 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Philippians 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The promises offered to us are not awards we win in a fight with God.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We receive these things by trusting in Christ’s resurrection.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

And by believing what Jesus said about Himself in John 14, that He is the only way to God and that He is in fact the image of God the Father. In John 3:36 believing on Christ is defined as believing what He said. So, in;

Acts 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

There is no athletic contest with God involved. If there is a wrestling match, it is between you and your flesh. But, what we can say here with certainty is a principle of holding on to God and not letting go, which some of us have done. We need to understand in all ways and at all times that it is God who is in control of our destiny. There is no war with Satan, who can do nothing without God’s permission, and no ransom paid to Satan for our souls, as the ransom is paid to God by God. See Exodus 30:12. But, as the parable of the friend pleading with his friend for food in Luke 11 and the parable of the unrighteous judge in Luke 18, it is expected that we will be persistent in prayer and not give up.

To make this a spiritual principle we have to understand that God often makes Himself apparent to us in reality for nothing happens that is not either caused by God or permitted by God; no cell function, not a beat of your heart, or not even sickness and death. For instance, someone you love is sick, very sick. You pray fervently for their release from the bondage of sickness. It means a lot to you that they get well. Do not, “let go,” but pray fervently, fast if you are led to by the spiritual and emotional urgency of the situation, but understand you may be wounded in the process. It may be God’s will that the one you love must go to Him. But, your persistence and sincerity will result in a blessing and you will be changed by the, “struggle.” This is just one example of possible applications and preachers have come up with many others.

Jacob holds on and refuses to let go until God blesses him. He is given the name Israel which typically is said to mean "God prevails" or "God contends" but here the meaning in context ironically refers to Jacob prevailing with God. Jacob demands that his opponent tell him His name. But, there is no need. Jacob knows with whom his encounter has been. Peniel and Penuel are two spellings of the same word. There may be another reason but one reason for including both spellings is the question among Jewish authorities regarding the spelling, I have read. Both mean ‘to see God face to face.’ Who then has Jacob wrestled with?

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Colossians 1:15a  Who is the image of the invisible God…

Those who trust in Christ’s righteousness and realize they are spiritually bankrupt and destitute on their own shall see God face to face. They are made clean and pure by Christ. (see Job 11:4; Psalm 24:4; and Proverbs 20:9 for pure as clean.)

Matthew 5:3 ¶  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven….8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

(The preparation of a heart to receive Christ is found in Psalms and Isaiah, among other places.

Psalm 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Isaiah 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.)

Jacob will carry with him, in his limp, a reminder of a very close encounter with the living God. He has had impressed upon him the unseen power of God in the company of angels he met. He has been impressed with the immediacy of God in his life with the encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ. These are two things that should give us pause as we face uncertain events ahead. There is invisible to us a great host which God can and will use for His purposes and God Himself does not only meet us in close encounters but His very Spirit dwells inside of us by virtue of the faith He gave us when we believed. (i.e.; Romans 3:22; 8:9.)

Bible Study on Matthew 5, verses 13 to 16, glorify your Father which is in heaven

 

Matthew 5:13 ¶  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

We use the expression salt of the earth for good, common ordinary people. But this is much deeper than that colloquial expression. Salt gives food flavor, as the context of this passage says, but also salt was a preservative throughout much of human history, by being rubbed into meat. It was also used as fertilizer.

 

Just as a side thought perhaps we can say the world of men and women is not worthless and is not destroyed outright because of the followers of Jesus, because of their existence. If it were not for those who belong to Christ on this earth there would be no reason for God not to cast it away like a rotten thing. Christians, those who trust in Christ, acknowledge Him as God in the flesh, and who wish to obey Him are the only thing between the world and eternal damnation right now. When they are called out it is all over. Done. We are the preservative and the fertilizer that grows faith, and the flavor that is pleasing to God.

 

When two angels and the preincarnate Christ visited Abraham and it was announced that Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed this scene took place.

 

Genesis 18:16 ¶  And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18  Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20  And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

 

    23 ¶  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24  Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26  And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28  Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29  And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. 30  And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31  And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for

twenty’s sake. 32  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

 

But there were not even ten good people in Sodom. Not even ten who followed the Lord God who created them. And the one who did was translated, raptured, in a symbolic way by being escorted by angels out of the doomed city.

 

Genesis 19:15 ¶  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

16  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

 

In the context here in Matthew it is the flavor that salt provides that is stressed. The usefulness of salt to make food palatable, to give it flavor. So, still we can think of how God is pleased with the body of Christ on earth. Remember how the right sacrifice was pleasing to God as a sweet savour?

 

Genesis 8:20 ¶  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

 

Let your light shine before men is not a reference to Christian “virtue signaling” by placing a scripture verse in your yard or on your car or wearing a dove or a cross lapel pin which are not bad things, of course. It is about your active and daily expression of your Christian faith in trusting God and obeying Christ.

 

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

We must be careful that what we do glorifies God and not ourselves.

Bible Study on Genesis 32, verses 13 to 23, Jacob sends gifts to his brother in his fear

 

Genesis 32:13 ¶  And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14  Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15  Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. 16  And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17  And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 18  Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. 19  And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20  And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. 21  So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. 22  And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23  And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

Jacob prepares an offering, a gift, for his brother, to appease what Jacob imagines is his wrath. Jacob assumes that Esau, after this long time, will still seethe with hatred and a desire for revenge. Of course, this is true in many families. Some of you still stew in anger and rage at some slight caused you many years ago by a family member. I’ve been there myself.

The droves, and remember how cowboys driving a herd of cattle in an old Western movie were called “drovers,” are gifts for Esau. One would suppose that Jacob is trying overwhelm Esau with his generosity. Clearly, Jacob is terrified. The servants are to tell Esau that Jacob is behind all of this wealth being offered to Esau.

Bible Study on Matthew 5, verses 3 to 12, part 4, of peacemakers and persecution

 

Peacemakers are not diplomats negotiating peace between warring countries. They are preaching peace between God and man.

 

Isaiah 52:7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

 

Notice how in this passage following that Christ is our peace, both Jew and Gentile, with God.

 

Ephesians 2:11 ¶  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 

    14 ¶  For he is our peace, who hath made both one [Jew and Gentile into the Church], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

 

And in Romans, Paul states that this peace is delivered by preaching in a reference to the passage I quoted from Isaiah.

 

Romans 10:12 ¶  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

 

Man is at war with His Creator. Peace is attainable but only through God’s mercy through Christ.

 

Persecution in history, for your faith in Christ, was much like it is in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia or Iran or communist countries like Vietnam or China and often resulted in the death of Christians. It was not something so trivial as your neighborhood association objecting to a scripture verse in your front yard or your boss making you take down a verse from your office cubicle. Real persecution involved and involves a threat, implied or obvious, that if you do not renounce Christ you will suffer.

 

2Timothy 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

 

This goes beyond the pharisaical thought, if you don’t do what I think you should do in any given situation you are denying Christ. This is life or death. Persecution for one’s faith is a true badge of honor if God is given the glory.

 

1Peter 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

 

There is a power in being persecuted if one is faithful and gives God the glory. It is, as this verse in Matthew 5 states, a proof that one is a part of the kingdom of God.

Bible Study on Genesis 32, verses 9 to 12, O God of my father Abraham

 

Genesis 32:9 ¶  And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10  I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11  Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. 12  And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Jacob’s prayer acknowledges who God is and then repeats what God told him to do. He makes the interesting statement that he knows he is not worthy of the least of God’s mercies or the truth that God has revealed to him and so he humbles himself. Then, he pleads for deliverance from the imagined fury of his brother for he fears his brother will slaughter his entire family. He finally restates the promise God made to his family.

Moses does this when God tests him by threatening to destroy the Hebrews when Aaron made them a golden calf to worship and they engaged in their wicked heathen worship.

Exodus 32:13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

We must be careful of imposing human limitations on God as if He needed to be reminded of His promises or He might forget them. Since God clearly knows the future and what will be done, not only what we will do but what He will do, the reminder is on the human’s part an argument expressing the justification for confidence that God will help. We do this in argument with each other when we remind a boss or a spouse or a friend or acquaintance of something they had promised when its performance appears to be in doubt. It rarely means that we actually think they’ve forgotten the promise.

Here it should be noted that Jacob is making a direct prayer to God with a purpose, not a prayer at God meaning nothing. In Christian culture much is often made of the so-called Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6.

Matthew 6:9 ¶  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11  Give us this day our daily bread. 12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

It is repeated in movies and literature, in public events and private, and yet, as per the context, it is not, “the Lord’s prayer,” but is a model of a prayer for His disciples and us. It is Jesus teaching the disciples how to pray and in what form to make a prayer, not even the only form in which to make a prayer. Yet, most people in the Christian culture and even those who just have a passing acquaintance with it but feel vulnerable will use this as an excuse not to engage God but to throw up a ritualistic prayer as if that means something. Why not just repeat Genesis 1:1 and then ask for something? What about John 1:1-18? Here, Jacob is seeking and assumes he has an audience with the throne of God and is not just repeating a formula, a chant, or a mantra.

Hebrews 4:11 ¶  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Always remember Jesus’ own admonition against endless and vain repetitions and ritualistic prayers.

Matthew 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Speak to God directly if you know He is there to hear you, as Jacob has done. Throw words out you do not believe if you only hope there is a God and have no intimate contact with Him through your spirit.

God wants your genuine, heart-felt prayers and concerns. Of what value is throwing up the Lord’s Prayer when something bad happens, considering you have no regard for God at any other time unless you force your children to recite meaningless mantras like;

“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.”

“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

Then, there is the good old stand-by, “Bless this food to our bodies and our bodies to your service.”

What do memorized ritual prayers mean if nothing is behind them? Do you think those recited prayers are considered in these verses?

Psalm 141:2  Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Jacob here is speaking to God, not at Him. How do you pray?

Bible Study on Matthew 5, verses 3 to 12, part 3, hunger and thirst after righteousness

 

Hungering and thirsting after God’s standard of righteousness carries with it a promise as God’s standard of righteousness is likened to food and drink in this part of Jesus’ sermon. Consider this in Job.

 

Job 23:12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

 

Then Psalms and Amos among many others.

 

Psalm 107:9  For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

 

Amos 8:11 ¶  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

 

It is suggested by this verse that God’s people should hunger and thirst after righteousness as they do food and drink and even more so.

 

Mercy is an important attribute of God and of the Christian. God’s mercy is a fundamental theme of the Bible.

 

Psalm 116:5  Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

 

Mercy as an attribute of the Christian is also stressed.

 

James 2:13  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

 

We expect God’s mercy on our lives and we should be willing to extend it to others. After all;

 

Luke 6:35  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

 

The pure in heart shall see God. The Bible defines in what being pure in heart entails.

 

Psalm 24: 3 ¶  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6  This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

 

See how in this passage in Psalms where the pure in heart seek God’s face and then in Matthew, chapter 5, Christ says that they will see God.

 

Notice the statement in Hebrews 11.

 

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

See what John had to say.

 

1John 3:1 ¶  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The pure, the righteous, God’s people by virtue of what Christ did, not what they have done, have this blessed hope.

Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.