“The Old Testament portrays the world as it is, no holds barred. In its pages you will find passionate stories of love and hate, blood-chilling stories of rape and dismemberment, matter-of-fact accounts of trafficking in slaves, honest tales of the high honor and cruel treachery of war. Nothing is neat and orderly. Spoiled brats like Solomon and Samson get supernatural gifts; a truly good man like Job gets catastrophe. As you encounter these disturbances, you may recoil against them or turn away from a God who had any part in them. The wonderful quality of the Old Testament is that it contains those very responses as well! God anticipates our objections and includes them in His sacred writing.” —Philip Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read
Detour: a deviation from a direct course or the
procedure.
Through the Beatitudes, Jesus radically
who is actually .
You are the
of the earth and you are the of the world.
Jesus’s Bible
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca [an Aramaic term of contempt],’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.17-48
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fullfill them.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.17
“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.18
Matthew 5.18
“Not one dot of an I, not one cross of a t will drop out of the law.” —Bruner
“Not the tiniest hook on a letter.” —Hendrickson
“One jot or one tittle will shall in no wise pass from law.” —KJV
Hebrew Alphabet Chart:
“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.19
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.20
In a world that’s usually looking to
, Jesus always .
“Don’t think for one minute that I came to throw out the Bible, or even the Old Testament. Nothing could be further from the truth! I came to take the story to its climax. This might surprise you, but it’s very true. The Bible – down to its smallest details, the cross of a t or the dot of an I – will never fall from its place of importance and influence. As long as there’s a universe, there will be a Bible. Instead, everything the Old Testament points forward to will come to pass. In fact, it’s already started through my life and work. So here’s my point: God’s treatment of you will mirror and mimic your treatment of the Bible. If you take even one odd, obscure command from the Bible (and more specifically, my teachings in and on the Bible), and you explain it away, or ignore it, or do some hermeneutical gymnastics to make it say what you want it to say, you’ll relegate yourself to the margins in the kingdom of God. You’ll never reach your full potential. But, if you take the Bible (and more specifically, my teachings in and on the Bible) seriously, then it will set you on the road to transformation. And you will grow and mature into a great one in the beautiful new world that’s coming into being.” —John Mark Comer Paraphrase of Matthew 5.17-20
Problem: We’re living in the middle of a CRISIS in the Church.
For Jesus…
1. The Bible is a story that reaches its climax in
2. The Bible is
3. The Bible is in constant need of debate, dialogue, rethinking, re-reading, etc. in order to get back to the
4. The Bible wasn’t just meant merely to be read and believed, but also to be
“For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” —2nd Peter 1.21
“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.19
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” —Jesus, Matthew 7.24
“Our trust in the Bible stems from our trust in Jesus Christ… I don’t trust in Jesus because I trust the Bible; I trust the Bible because I trust in Jesus. I love Him, and I’ve decided to follow Him, so if He talks and acts as if the Bible is trustworthy, authoritative, good, helpful and powerful, I will too… Even if some of my questions remain unanswered, or my answers remain unpopular.” —Andrew Wilson