1. HIGH EXPECTATIONS
MATTHEW 5:17-48
SEPTEMBER 9, 2012
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. HIGH EXPECTATIONS

3. Matthew 5:17-19 HCSB
17 “Don’t assume that I
came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to
fulfill.

4. 18 For I assure you: Until
heaven and earth pass
away, not the smallest
letter or one stroke of a
letter will pass from the
law until all things are
accomplished.

5. 19 Therefore, whoever
breaks one of the least of
these commands and
teaches people to do so
will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven.

6. But whoever practices
and teaches these
commands will be called
great in the kingdom of
heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19 HCSB

7. Because we’re saved by
grace and not by keeping the
Law, are we expected to
keep the Law?

8. Jesus warned that He did
not come to destroy the
Law or the Prophets
(meaning the Old
Testament Scriptures).
Jesus solidly affirmed the
authority of Old Testament

9. Scriptures by announcing He
had come to fulfill them.

10. The overarching predictive
message of the OT relates to
humanity’s sin and God’s
promise to bless all nations
through Abraham’s
descendant (Jesus Christ).

11. Jesus fulfilled that promise
by coming as the Savior
through Whom God offers
the blessing of redemption to
all who will receive Him.

12. Hebrews 10:1
1 Since the law has only a
shadow of the good
things to come, and not
the actual form of those
realities, it can never
perfect the worshipers by

13. the same sacrifices they
continually offer year
after year.
Hebrews 10:1

14. Hebrews 10:16-17
16 “This is the covenant I
will make with them
after those days,”
says the Lord:
“I will put My laws on
their hearts and write

15. them on their minds,”
17 He adds:
“I will never again
remember their sins and
their lawless acts.”
Hebrews 10:16-17

16. Jeremiah 31:33-34
33 “Instead, this is the
covenant I will make with
the house of Israel after
those days”—the Lord’s
declaration. “I will put
My teaching within them

17. and write it on their
hearts. I will be their God,
and they will be My
people.
34 No longer will one
teach his neighbor or his
brother, saying,

18. ‘Know the Lord,’ for they
will all know Me, from
the least to the greatest of
them”—this is the Lord’s
declaration.
“For I will forgive their
wrongdoing and never

19. again remember their
sin.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34
(Hebrews 10:16-17)

20. Christ’s atoning death and
resurrection also fulfilled or
completed the purpose of
laws associated with animal
sacrifices and the priesthood,
which simply foreshadowed
Him (so we no longer need

21. to sacrifice animals or have
human priests to mediate
between God and us).
Furthermore, His
teachings did not displace
the Law but rather obeyed
or filled it full of its

22. intended meaning.
Jesus is on every page of
the Old Testament!

24. Hebrews 11:1 HCSB
1“Now faith is the
reality of what is hoped
for, the proof of what is
not seen.”

25. Hebrews 11:1 KJV
1“Now faith is the
substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things
not seen.”

27. Genesis 6:14 (God told Noah)
14 “Make an ark of gopher
wood. Make rooms in the ark,
and cover it with pitch inside
and outside.”

28. The ark was sealed with
pitch (Gen 6:14), making it
impenetrable by the
judgment waters.
We are sealed in Christ by
the Holy Spirit of God.

29. 2 Corinthians 1:22
22 “He has also sealed us
and given us the Spirit as
a down payment in our
hearts.”

30. Genesis 6:15-16
15 “This is how you are to
make it: …
16 … You are to put a
door in the side of the
ark.”

31. Gen 6:16 tells us the ark
was designed with only
one means to enter.
Jesus Christ alone is the
way to the Father (John
14:6).

32. John 14:6
6 Jesus told him, “I am the
way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the
Father except through
Me.”

33. John 10:9
9 “I am the door. If
anyone enters by Me, he
will be saved …”

34. The ark was a shadow of
God’s plan of salvation
from the coming
judgment and it was
planned entirely by the
Father, not one element of
design was left for Noah.

35. Genesis 7:16
16 “Those that entered,
male and female of all
flesh, entered just as God
had commanded Noah.
Then the Lord shut him
in.”

36. The eternal security of the
believer.
Noah may have fallen
down in the ark but he
could never fall out of the
ark!

37. Psalm 23

39. Exodus 12
5 “You must have an
unblemished animal, a
year-old male
6 slaughter it
21 slaughter the Passover
animal.

40. 7 take some of the blood
22 Take a cluster of hyssop,
dip it in the blood that is in
the basin, and brush the
lintel and the two
doorposts with some of the
blood in the basin.

42. According to Ceil &
Moishe Rosen in
"Christ in the Passover",
the basin in Exodus 12:22
was not a container in the
sense that we use the
word today.

43. The word comes from the
Egyptian "sap" meaning
the threshold or ditch was
dug in front of the
doorway to the house to
avoid flooding.

44. People placed a container
in the ditch to prevent
seepage.
The Israelites killed their
Passover lambs right by
the doors where they
were about to sprinkle

45. blood and the blood from
the slaughter
automatically ran into the
depression (basin) at the
threshold.
Thus the blood was
already at the "foot" of the

46. door when it was struck
onto the doorposts and
lintels.

48. 1 Corinthians 5:7b
7b “for Christ our
Passover has been
sacrificed.”

52. Manna
Exodus 16:15-16
15 When the Israelites saw
it, they asked one another,
“What is it?” because they
didn’t know what it was.

53. Moses told them, “It is the
bread the Lord has given
you to eat.
16 This is what the LORD
has commanded: ‘Gather
as much of it as each
person needs to eat.’”

54. John 6:30-35
30 “What sign then are
You going to do so we
may see and believe
You?” they asked. “What
are You going to perform?
31 Our fathers ate the

55. manna in the wilderness,
just as it is written: He
gave them bread from
heaven to eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “I
assure you: Moses didn’t
give you the bread from

56. heaven, but My Father
gives you the real bread
from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is
the One Who comes down
from heaven and gives life
to the world.”

57. 34 Then they said, “Sir,
give us this bread
always!”
35 “I am the bread of
life,” Jesus told them.
“No one who comes to
Me will ever be hungry,

58. and no one who believes
in Me will ever be
thirsty again.”
John 6:30-35
(Exodus 16:15-16)

60. Medical Caduceus

61. Numbers 21:9
9 “So Moses made a bronze
snake and mounted it on a
pole. Whenever someone
was bitten, and he looked
at the bronze snake, he
recovered.”

62. John 3:12, 14-15
12 “I have told you about
things that happen on
earth and you don’t
believe, how will you
believe if I tell you about
things of heaven?

63. 14 Just as Moses lifted up
the snake in the
wilderness, so the Son of
Man must be lifted
up, 15 so that everyone
who believes in Him will
have eternal life.”

64. Jonah and Matthew 12:40
40 “For as Jonah was in the
belly of the huge fish three
days and three nights, so
the Son of Man will be in
the heart of the earth three
days and three nights.”

65. Jonathan Edwards
identified an example
in Daniel 3:25, when the
fourth man in the
furnace is described as
"like a son of the gods."

66. Joseph as a picture of Jesus
Read through Genesis
chapters 37, 39-41, and 45-46
and make your own
comparisons.

70. So, is the Old Testament
finished, over, done?
Should we ignore it?
Not according to Jesus.

71. Not even a dot over an i
or a cross-mark of a t will
be set aside until all things
are accomplished
(Matt. 5:18).
All Old Testament
Scripture pertaining to

72. Christ’s first coming has
been accomplished, but
the prophecies related to
Christ’s return have not.
The ethical and moral
principles of the Law are
not only still in force but

73. also are echoed in the
New Testament.
Jesus’ words instruct us to
take the Old Testament
teachings seriously.
Those who dismiss them
and encourage others to

74. do so will miss blessings
in this life and in the life
to come—they will be
called least in the
kingdom of heaven
(Matthew 5:19).

75. This kingdom is the realm
in which Christ is
honored as Lord and
King, that is, the realm of
the redeemed.
Those who obey and
teach the Law will be

76. called great (v. 19).
Determine to be a faithful
student of the Old
Testament, allow God’s
Spirit to speak to you
through it and to lead you
in applying it without

77. becoming enslaved to its
ritualistic provisions.
Law vs grace.
10% vs 100%

78. Matthew 5:20
20 “For I tell you, unless
your righteousness
surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.”

80. Matthew 5:48
48 “Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father
is perfect.”

84. Scribes and Pharisees
were viewed as spiritual
giants in Jesus’ day (v. 20).
You can almost hear the
audience murmuring,
We have to be more
righteous than them?

86. Scribes were viewed as
experts at interpreting
and applying God’s Law.
They knew the Old
Testament teachings up,
down, and sideways.

87. Pharisees were known to
take extreme measures to
ensure they kept each of
God’s commands.
They even tithed herbs
grown in their household
gardens (Luke 11:42)!

88. Who could ever hope to
top these groups on the
righteousness chart and
enter the kingdom of
heaven, or experience the
reign of God?

90. Jesus was not talking here
about God’s imputing
Christ’s righteousness to
sinners who believe in
Him (justification).
Here He meant doing
right by others, saying the

91. right words, making the
right choices, doing the
right things—all the
attitudes and actions
labeled right in Scriptures.

93. Scribes and Pharisees
were convinced they were
righteous, and most
people agreed with them.
Their lives literally
revolved around keeping
religious rules, traditions,

94. and rituals. Rabbis over
centuries had been
debating and defining
how each Biblical
command was to be
obeyed and how it could
be broken.

95. This resulted in a
multitude of rules that
formed a tradition they
viewed as having as much
authority as the
Scriptures.

96. Why, then, didn’t Jesus
commend them for their
conscientious and
scrupulous efforts to obey
the Law?
Here’s why: Their
supposed righteousness

97. was based on outward
deeds rather than inward
devotion (see Isa. 29:13).
13 The Lord said:
“Because these people
approach Me with their
mouths to honor Me with

98. lip-service –
yet their hearts are far
from Me,
and their worship consists
of man-made rules
learned by rote.”
Isaiah 29:13

99. Don’t be too quick to smirk
at the scribes and
Pharisees.
Have you ever “done your
duty” as a Christian when
your heart wasn’t in it?

100. Have you merely gone
through the motions when
attending worship (with all
its elements, including the
offering), or praying—at
meals or during personal
devotions;

101. or showing up for church
visitation, or filling
various volunteer
positions or assignments?
Did any of that so-called
obedience please God?
Have I repented?

102. Am I seeking to do better?
We should be seeking
more consistently to obey
the greatest commandment
—to love God with our
whole heart.

104. This is the only way our
righteousness can exceed
that of the Pharisees.
Jesus is never satisfied with
mediocre discipleship.

105. He set the highest standard
possible —
high expectations!
“Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is
perfect.” Matthew 5:48

106. Wait a minute, even if our
righteousness exceeds that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
this exhortation still sinks
our ships!

107. Our personal experience,
observation, and Scriptures
such as 1 John 1:8 (which
addresses believers) prove
this is a shore we’ll never
reach in this life
(1 John 3:2-3).

108. 1 John 1:8
8 ”If we say, ‘We have no
sin,’ we are deceiving
ourselves, and the truth is
not in us.”

109. 1 John 3:2-3
2 Dear friends, we are
God’s children now, and
what we will be has not
yet been revealed.
We know that when He
appears, we will be like

110. Him because we will see
Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has
this hope in Him purifies
himself just as He is
pure.”
1 John 3:2-3

111. “perfect”- means having
reached the goal, the end
or limit, thus complete,
full or perfect.
Nothing less than perfect
obedience is the goal our
Lord has set before us.

112. The standard for
measuring this is God’s
own perfection as
revealed in the Lord Jesus
Christ
(Eph 4:15).
High expectations!

113. Ephesians 4:15
15 “But speaking the truth
in love, let us grow in
every way into Him Who
is the head—Christ.”

115. Even so, Jesus expects us
to take this command
seriously.
He has given us His Spirit
to guide and empower us
for Christian living and
service.

118. While we may never in
this life complete the
journey toward godly
perfection, we can stay
the course.
So let’s continue to pursue
the goal of becoming like

119. our Lord in our attitudes
and actions.
This will benefit us in at
least three ways:
(1) it will keep us on the
right course,
(2) it will remind us how

120. foolish we are to measure
our discipleship by other
believers, and
(3) it will foster humility
and compassion in all our
relationships.

121. Matthew 5:21-22
21“You have heard that it
was said to our ancestors,
Do not murder, and
whoever murders will be
subject to judgment.

122. 22 But I tell you,
everyone who is angry
with his brother will be
subject to judgment.
And whoever says to his
brother, ‘Fool!’ will be
subject to the Sanhedrin.

123. But whoever says, ‘You
moron!’ will be subject to
hellfire.”
Matthew 5:21-22

124. One example is worth
more than a dozen
generalities.
Jesus, the Master Teacher,
gave six examples that
help us see how to move
beyond the Pharisees’

125. kind of righteousness
(v. 20).
In each example, He set
forth a common religious
teaching, sometimes
loosely based on
Scripture, and then added

126. what obedience to that
law actually involved.
He did not refute Biblical
teachings, but He pointed
out how superficially
those teachings were
being understood and

127. practiced.
In each example Jesus
illustrated how to apply
the principle behind the
particular law.
We often call this keeping
the spirit of the law rather

128. than just the letter of the
law.
Jesus’ first example was
the law against murder
(v. 21).
He showed that obeying
this law meant not having

129. murderous hearts as well
as not having murderous
hands.

130. The spirit of this law is to
respond to personal
offenses with forbearance
and forgiveness rather
than with anger and
violence.

131. That makes keeping this
law a lot tougher.
It’s easier to choose not to
put an offender in the
ground than to forego
anger and seek
reconciliation.

132. There is an account of two
women in a small church
that sat on opposite sides
of the sanctuary and
never spoke to each other.

135. According to Jesus, their
anger put them in the
same boat with
murderers.
Early in their dispute they
had called each other
contemptuous names,

136. similar to fool or moron
(v. 22). Those are
disparaging terms that
insult one’s moral choices
(character) and
intellectual ability (good
sense).

138. Jesus was saying that
obeying the command
against murder means
setting aside anger and
doing everything possible
to restore fellowship.

139. He also was showing the
penalty for disobedience
is quite severe (subject to
hellfire).

141. Matthew 5:27-28
27“You have heard that it
was said, Do not commit
adultery.
28 But I tell you,
everyone who looks at a
woman to lust for her has

142. already committed
adultery with her in his
heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28

143. Jesus next cited the
command against
adultery (v. 27).
This command means to
remain faithful to one’s
spouse.

145. Keeping the spirit of this
law includes avoiding
adultery in one’s heart by
lusting for a non-spouse
(v. 28).

147. Men and women both
experience attraction
toward certain members
of the opposite sex to
whom they are not
married.

149. When we dwell on that
attraction, however, and
allow it to lead us into
immoral fantasies, we
commit adultery in our
hearts.

152. A seminary student asked
a faculty member well
past “retirement age” how
old a person had to be
before lust was no longer
a problem.
His honest answer?

153. “Older than me.”
So we ask along with the
Psalmist,
“How can a young man
[plus men and women,
married and single] keep
… pure?”

154. The answer is, “By
keeping Your word” (Ps.
119:9).
A more mature pastor
told me long ago,
“It takes more than loving
one’s wife to stay faithful

155. to her.”
He went on to explain
that a dead-serious
commitment to be faithful
to the Lord is required.
Again, we believers are
not left on our own;

156. we have the promise of
the Holy Spirit to help us
obey the Lord from our
hearts.

157. Matthew 5:31-32
31“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his
wife must give her a
written notice of divorce.
32 But I tell you,
everyone who divorces

158. his wife, except in a case
of sexual immorality,
causes her to commit
adultery. And whoever
marries a divorced woman
commits adultery.
Matthew 5:31-32

160. The next example is,
“Whoever divorces his
wife must give her a
written notice of divorce”
(v. 31; read Deut. 24:1-5).
The written notice
demonstrated eligibility to

161. marry again, enabling the
woman to become legally
attached to another
provider.
The Pharisees had long
and loud debates about
the legitimate causes for

162. divorce.
(See Matt. 19:3-9—Jesus
explained the permission
for divorce was a
concession to men’s
hardened hearts and
emphasized God’s

163. intention that marriage be
a permanent union.)
Jesus always put the
spotlight on the sanctity
of marriage, not on
breaking the marriage
with divorce (vv. 4-6).

165. In other words, the big
idea here is marriage.
The spirit of the law calls
for me to focus on being
the husband my wife
needs me to be, and for her
to focus on being the wife

166. I need her to be.
Any spouse can find
faults aplenty in his or her
mate, and to dwell on
those faults fosters
bitterness and builds
barriers.

169. To dwell on how we
married folk can be better
spouses to each other
builds marriages.
Notice that even though
Jesus recognized sexual
immorality as a

170. permissible reason to break
a marriage, He did not
command divorce in such
cases (5:32), contrary to
prevailing Jewish law of
the day.

172. This is no knock against
believers who have
experienced the pain of
divorce.
In some cases, divorce can
be the lesser of two bad
options.

174. God’s unfailing love and
redeeming mercy are as
available to divorced and
remarried persons as they
are to all of us who fail to
live up to godly
standards.

175. Certainly we are to
uphold the Lord’s
standards for marriage
and strive to live up to
them.
At the same time, those of
us who know we are poor

176. in spirit can reach out in
love, compassion, and
acceptance to believers
who have suffered
divorce.

177. Matthew 5:33-34
33 “Again, you have
heard that it was said to
our ancestors, You must
not break your oath, but
you must keep your
oaths to the Lord.

178. 34 But I tell you, don’t
take an oath at all:”
Matthew 5:33-34

180. Jesus’ audience often had
heard the law about
keeping oaths.
Scribes and Pharisees
were well aware of the
traditions that defined in
wearisome detail what

181. forms of oaths could or
could not be broken (see
vv. 34b-36; also 23:16-22).
Jesus brushed all that
nonsense aside by
admonishing,

182. “Don’t take an oath at
all” (5:34a). (No, this does
not prohibit oaths taken in
courts of law.)
Jesus stressed the spirit of
this law, namely, always
tell the truth.

183. We are followers of Him
who identified Himself as
“the truth” (John 14:6).
When we are known for
consistently telling the
truth, we demonstrate
genuine faith in Him.

184. In addition, people
believe us without any
sort of “may God strike
me down” assurances of
our honesty.
Misleading statements or
claims demolish

185. credibility, undermine
respect, destroy trust, and
negate a Christian
witness.
We should determine
always to represent Christ
by speaking the truth in

186. love and by refusing to
misrepresent the truth in
any way at all.

187. Matthew 5:38-39
38“You have heard that it
was said, An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a
tooth.
39 But I tell you, don’t
resist an evildoer.

188. On the contrary, if
anyone slaps you on your
right cheek, turn the
other to him also.”
Matthew 5:38-39

189. “An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth” is as
familiar a command to us
as to Jesus’ hearers (v. 38).
This law was intended as
a guide for judges to use
in legal settlements,

190. not as a license for
measured personal
revenge (see Ex. 21:22-25;
Lev. 19:18).
Jesus’ telling His followers
not to resist an evil doer
(Matt. 5:39) did not mean

191. to permit mean and
lawless people to run wild
in our communities.
He again was dealing
with personal
relationships, insisting
that the spirit of this law

192. teaches to exercise grace
rather than retaliation.
When we argue with this
and raise possible
exceptions, we fall into
the Pharisees’
methodology.

193. Instead, let’s hold fast the
principle of non-
retaliation, exemplified by
Jesus as He was vilified,
tortured, and crucified.
Let’s trust the Spirit to
reveal how we are to

194. apply this principle in
particular situations.
All vengeance belongs to
the Lord, not to us
(Rom. 12:19).

195. 43 “You have heard that
it was said, Love your
neighbor and hate your
enemy. 44 But I tell you,
love your enemies and
pray for those who
persecute you,” Matt 5

197. Jesus’ final example of
common teachings is,
“Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy,”
although an explicit
command to hate one’s
enemy is not in the OT.

198. This is not the fuzzy-
warm-feelings kind of
love, but rather the
selfless, sacrificial love
that seeks the best for
others.

199. Scribes and Pharisees
endorsed the popular
understanding that loving
one’s neighbor meant
fellow Jews, not Gentiles,
and especially not
enemies.

200. They narrowed the scope
of love, but Jesus
broadened it to include
even one’s enemies (v. 44).
He knew believers would
experience painful and
deadly persecution, but to

201. hate the persecutors or
other enemies would
grossly misrepresent
Christ to the world.
To pray for those who
persecute us, as Jesus did
on the cross, demonstrates

202. we are “sons of your
Father in Heaven”
(vv. 44-45).

203. All six of Jesus’ examples
lead us to look for and to
keep not only the letter of
commands but also the
principles they embody.

204. They are not so much a
list of rules to follow as
they are examples that
illustrate that we are to be
righteous in every area of
life—righteous as a matter
of heart, not mere external

205. obedience.
Keep in mind what the
Lord expects of us.
Don’t be misled by
religious traditions or
sidetracked by those who
dilute His requirements.

206. While recognizing those
requirements are
demanding, we should
renew our commitment to
trust the Lord to guide
and enable us more and
more to live up to His

207. expectations.
The one who hurls
insults is as guilty as the
one who murders?
The one who lusts has
committed adultery in
his heart? Ouch!

208. If Jesus were to preach in
your church the next time
the pastor is out and
deliver this sermon, what
superficial obedience
might He step on your
toes with?

209. Biblical Truths of This
Lesson in Focus
• All Scripture points to
Jesus, Who fulfills it.
• Study both Old and New
Testaments to discern
God’s expectations

210. • Truly righteous actions
are rooted in heartfelt
devotion to God.
• Discern the principles
behind God’s commands;
apply them as broadly as
possible.

211. • Practice mercy rather
than murder, faithfulness
to spouses in thought and
deed, and marriage
building rather than
marriage breaking.

212. • Be known for
truthfulness rather than
deception, forgiveness
rather than retaliation,
and love rather than hate.

213. Jesus’ expectation and
standards obviously are
exceedingly high.
Ask Him to help you live
by the spirit of His
standards, not the letter
only.

214. Next week:
Matthew 6
RIGHT MOTIVES