Matthew 5:8–20: Does the Messiah’s path to true happiness include the Law?

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“And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!'” (Revelation 15:3 NASB)

Aren’t the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ two different “tunes,” the former about obedience and justice and the latter about grace and mercy? We find that Yeshua (Jesus) bridges both in the sermons on the mount and plain (Matthew 5–7; Luke 6:17–36).

In part 3 of this look inside these important messages from Yeshua on salvation, we explore a critical key to understanding the harmony between the Song of the Lamb and the Song of Moses, detailed in Torah reading הַאֲזִינוּ Ha’azinu (“listen,” Deuteronomy 32).

Gratitude for the Beatitudes

• Sermons on the mount and plain teach us key things about Messiah:
  • Mount: This message is coming from Heaven.
  • Plain: This message will lead you to freedom, not captivity.
• Beatitudes: “Happy are you…” (“Woe to you…” also in Luke)
  • Contrasts: “I did it my way” vs. do it God’s Way
  • Poor (brokenhearted): Find meaning via the Kingdom
  • Hunger (seek righteousness): Live by God’s words
  • Mourn/laugh: Be real about relationships broken & restored
  • Humble (respectful): Put God first (Shema, Deut. 6:4–5)
  • Pure in heart: Be transparent in thought & action before Heaven
  • Peacemaker: “ministry of reconciliation”
  • Persecuted: “Love the LORD your God … with all your soul.”

Blessed are you v. Woe are you!

• καθαρός katharos (G2513): “pure”; Septuagint mostly for תהור ṭāhôr (“clean”)
  • Lesson of Vayiqra (Leviticus): Only tahor qorbanot (offerings) are allowed to approach the Shekhinah (Presence) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

What is the difference between the heart, mind and soul? Are they all talking about the same thing? One thing we will see is that they are not the same.

The word that is translated into English as heart refers to the thoughts that lead to action, hence Yeshua’s midrash on the Shema:

“ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, and with all your mind, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” (Mark 12:30 NASB)

“ ‘As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.’” (1Chronicles 28:9 NASB)

Many get perplexed when they read Hebrews where it says that if you forsake Yeshua, there is no other source of salvation. If you want to know what happens when you look for wisdom from means other than God, just read the book of Ecclesiastes. Wisdom from any other source than God is vanity.

Let’s look at some Hebrew words from 1Chronicles 28:9.

• heart = לֵב lev (H3820)
• mind = נֶפֶשׁ nefesh (H5315). This is what animates us.
• understand = בִּין bin (H0995). This also means “between.” Understanding is like the idiom “Read between the lines.” The words may say one thing on the surface but there may be a deeper meaning. At any rate, the deeper reading from “between the lines” should never contradict the plain meaning.
• intent = יֵצֶר yetzer (H3336); also can be translated “inclination” or proverbially as “eye.” We are to take every thought into submission to Christ (2Cor. 10:5). Not every thought that happens to pop up needs to be taken seriously. They need to be closely examined and if they contradict God’s word, they need to be thrown out. Think carefully before you speak. We filter all the bad thoughts straight into the garbage can.

“ ‘The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results [literally, fruit] of his deeds.’” (Jeremiah 17:9–10 NASB)

• mind = כְּלָי֑וֹת kelayot, literally “kidneys”; כִּלְיָה kilyah (H3629). This is what is translated as “inward parts” in Ps. 51 when King David confesses his sin with Bathsheba to God.

Knowledge of what?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7 NASB)

What is wisdom?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10 NASB)

One feature of Hebrew scripture is parallelism, where the next line will say the same thing or contrasting view of the first line. This is often found in poetic sections such as Psalms and Proverbs. If one line of scripture doesn’t make sense, often the next line can help explain it.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. When we “read between the lines” of the Torah, we get the understanding we need to live a Torah-observant life.

“But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!’ ” (Ex. 33:20)

We can’t see God in His fullness, but He can see all things, all the time.

“Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.” (Psa. 34:14)

This is why we have the ceremonial washing of our hands before breaking bread:

“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.” (Psa. 24:3–4)

The Pharisees applied the priestly washings to everyday life, particularly before eating (Matt. 15:1–20; cp. Mark 7).

The punchline of Psalm 24 as well as Matt. 15:1-20 and Mark 7 is that if the heart isn’t right, no amount of hand-washing will help.

“ ‘The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.” Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.’ ” (Isaiah 29:11–14 NASB)

God warns that He will take away the ability to read between the lines if they merely pay lip service to Him but don’t give him real service.

What does it mean to make peace? (Matt. 5:9)

The students follow the path of their teacher and the servant follows his Master.

“And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (Jas. 3:18)

“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14)

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” (Rom. 12:18)

When you make peace, it also reaps peace and spreads peace around. Making real peace between others is not about hiding the issue or pretending it doesn’t exist. However, it can also be a messy and difficult process.

It is incumbent on us to try to make peace. Not everyone wants peace, but we should not sow conflict, dissension and strife.

Why does persecution happen (Luke 6:22–23, Matt. 5:10–12, Luke 6:26, James 1)? We see many fellow believers in Messiah who were evacuated from Iraq to save them from ISIS and now they are under threat by the Turks. They literally had the Arabic letter “nun” written on their homes, they were literally marked for death because they refused to bend the knee to submit to the false god of Islam. They will only bend the knee to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they have paid a steep price for their loyalty to Yeshua the Messiah.

We can’t entertain the world into the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s very important how we go about teaching others about Yeshua. Disciples of the Kingdom who will be strong enough to refuse to bend the knee to ISIS on pain of death don’t receive that strength by being entertained. They gain that strong faith by strong teaching and opportunities to put what they learn into practice.

Matthew 5:17–20; Luke 16:16–17: 
Did Yeshua’s death & resurrection abolish the Law & the Prophets?

The Law and the Prophets tell us who the Lord is and what He wants of us. Did Yeshua abolish the Law and the Prophets? No. There are several witnesses who tell us that Yeshua did not come so we can disregard and no longer follow the Torah.

“ ‘Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’ ” (Matt. 5:17–20 NASB)

“ ‘The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” (Luke 16:16-17 NASB)

These are a foundational statements for believers in Yeshua as the Anointed One of God, because The Prophet of God, and all of the true prophets, were to establish and uphold the Law, according to God’s words through the great prophet, Moshe, in Deuteronomy 6, 13 and 18.

The people of Israel have been looking for this prophet ever since. When John the Baptist was active in ministry, many came to him and asked if he was this prophet that Moshe predicted would come after him.

“ ‘If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.’ ” (Deuteronomy 13:1–5 NASB)

Prophet test #1

The first test of a prophet is that if the prophet tells you to נלכה אחרי אלהים אחרים אשׁר לא־ידעתם ונעבדם naylkhah ’akhray ’elohim ’akharim ’asher lo-y’da’tam v’n’avadaym “go after other gods, whom you have not known, and serve them.”

• Go after is translated from Hebrew words הלך halakh (H1980) and אחרי akhray (H311).
  • Halakh means “to walk” and is used in the Scriptures (as in v. 5) to refer to the “path” or “way” toward life the Creator wants people to “walk,” i.e., how people who trust God behave.
    • From this comes the Hebrew term for sages’ or congregational leadership’s rulings: הלכה halakhah, or “way of walking.”
  • Akhray comes from the verb אחר akhar (H309), which means “to remain behind, delay, tarry.” The adjective akhar, translated “another” or “other,” means “one coming behind.”
• So, נלכה אחרי אלהים אחרים naylkhah akhray ’elohim ’akharim can be translated “let us walk after gods that come behind,” i.e., let’s obey the teachings from gods that postdated or are inferior to the Lord, Who vanquished the ’elohim of Egypt, delivered Israel from בית עבדים beit ’avadim (“house of servants/slaves”).

We are to look for a prophet coming out of Israel like Moshe, who accurately spoke words God gave.

The words God gave Moshe were the Testimony of God, revealing Who God is, what He has been doing and what He wants.

Consistent with the tests of prophets in Deuteronomy 13, this coming prophet would speak according to the words God gave Moshe.

To pass these test, true followers of God must learn well what God gave Israel through Moshe.

Prophet test #2

The second test is that the prophet’s words will point you toward the Greatest Commandment:

“ ‘Hear [שמע], O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one [אחד]! 5 “You shall love [אהבה] the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” (Deut. 6:4–6; partly quoted in Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30-33; Luke 10:27)

• As described in Deuteronomy 13, this love (אהבה ’ahavah, H0157) for the LORD involves:
  • Fear God.
  • Halakh akhray (follow after, walk behind) God.
  • Keep [שמר shamar, H8104, “to keep, watch, preserve”] His commandments.
    • Yeshua connected love for Him with love from the Father and observance of His commandments, one of which was not to think He would abolish the Law and Prophets.
    • “ ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.’ ” (John 14:21; cf. 14:14)

There are those in mainstream Christianity who teach that Yeshua’s commandments and God’s commandments as given in the Torah are not the same thing. How do you respond to this?

When Yeshua was confronted by the Adversary, Yeshua tells HaSatan, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”” (Matthew 4:4 NASB)

When Yeshua preached from the Scriptures, He was preaching from the Torah. There was no New Testament for at least 2 generations after Yeshua’s death and resurrection. When Yeshua spoke, He always referenced the Torah.

• Listen [שמע shama, H8085, “to hear and accept a request”] to His voice.
  • Listen for God’s direction, and respond to His call to turn back from and leave behind behavior not in line with His direction.
• Serve [עבד ’avad, H5647, “to work, serve”] Him.
• Cling [דבק dabaq, H1692, “to cling, cleave, keep close”] to Him.
  • This is the word used to describe the first marriage.
    • “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined [דבק] to his wife; and they shall become one [אחד] flesh.” (Gen. 2:24)
  • Another word used to describe this ’ekhad-dabaq of husband and wife is ידע yadah (H3045), which literally means to know, recognize, discern or understand via observation and reflection.
    • In Gen. 4:1, it’s used euphemistically to mean “coming together” of the first husband and wife for procreation.
    • Elsewhere in the Bible, it’s used to refer to acknowledging God or discriminating between Him and false leaders.

Prophet test #3

A third test is that once this prophet like Moshe is discovered, we are to listen and follow the way described.

• Consistent with Deuteronomy 6 and 13, this way will not contradict the way God relayed to Israel through Moshe.
• Otherwise, the prophet is speaking “presumptuously,” translated from זוד zud (H2102), “to boil up, seethe, act proudly or presumptuously or rebelliously.”
  • In other words, a prophet contradicting Gods words through Moshe and through other prophets (“the Law and the Prophets”) is fomenting rebellion against God.
• Thankfully, Yeshua said God will have mercy on those who aren’t in open rebellion against God, although they speak against God’s testimony (Matt. 5:19). Such teachers “will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

Does “fulfill” and “accomplished” in Matthew 5 mean that there would be a time when God would “abolish” and “annul” His previous words in the Law and Prophets?

• First, Yeshua specifically said His mission wasn’t to καταλύω kataluo (G2647, from 2596 and 3089) “to destroy, overthrow” the Law and the Prophets (Mt. 5:17).
• Second, fulfill in Mt. 5:17 comes from πληρόω pleroo (G4137 from 4134) “to make full, to complete.”

A relevant example of this, which also shows the connection between “fulfill,” knowledge from God and proper “walking,” comes from Paul’s letter to Colossae:

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled [πληρόω] with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Col. 1:9–10)

This meaning of pleroo in Matt. 5:17 is noted in The NIV Study Bible:

“Jesus fulfilled the Law in the sense that he gave it its full meaning. He emphasized its deep, underlying principles and total commitment to it rather than mere external acknowledgement.”

A parallel Hebrew phrase is קים את התורה qim ’et ha-torah, or “fulfill the Torah”:

“Whoever fulfills [מקים mikayyem] the Torah in poverty will fulfill [לקים likayyem] it later on in wealth; and whoever abolishes the Torah in wealth will abolish it later in poverty.” (m.Avot 4:9)

When we read “until heaven and earth pass away” in Matt. 5:18 is a parallel phrase to “until all is accomplished,” meaning that the “smallest letter or stroke” of the Law and the Prophets — including the seemingly insignificant portions — will remain authoritative until a time when there are new heavens and a new earth.

• The passing away of the current heavens and earth is foretold in Isaiah 66 (especially, vv. 22–23) and Rev. 21:1.
• This is confirmed by Yeshua’s statement in Luke 16:17, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”

Do we act like we are citizens of the Kingdom only when we arrive in the Kingdom? No. We are to live as citizens of the Kingdom while we still live in this world. We are going there to become a nation of priests. Although each of us have a different role to play, all of us have the same responsibility to bring others to God.

Summary: Tammy