The Fulfiller

The summary or premise of The Sermon on the Mount is TODAY’S short passage.
The theme of the sermon is righteousness. What does it mean to live in right relationship with God, with our neighbors and with ourselves? Or from a Greco-Roman Philosophy angle: what does it mean to live a complete, full, mature, good life? What’s our “telos”, our end or our goal or purpose in life? What’s Jesus Christ’s definition of the “summum bonum”, the Highest Good? Among all the philosophies and religions of His day, how will HE answer that all-important question?

Already the clergymen – priests and religious experts are concerned that He’s proposing something that’s fundamentally different from Judaism. He does things and says things that seem to come from God (John 3.2) but He also seems…peculiar? It seems like He wants change (powerful people don’t like change!) and “He seems to be advocating a departure from our religion – a rejection of our ancient traditions – we keep the Law and the Prophets… Him? We’re not sure.”

Is the Way of Jesus a new religion? What is it saying about what we call the Old Testament…and will people who embrace the Way of Jesus use His Way as a covering and excuse for UN-righteous bad behavior?
Lets look at:
1) An OLD Fear
2) A Third Way
3) A New Obedience