Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany: Gospel,  Matthew 5:21-37           

Matthew 5:21-37

It’s a strange thing to read so much law in the gospel reading. But this is law from the lips of the Savior who comes to redeem us from it. Amazing. Jesus “turns the screws” here in our gospel reading for the week as He pushes past the outer shell of man’s righteousness. Jesus refers to it in another place as washing the outside of the cup and letting foulness take over the inside. You and I know it by our practice of all the do’s and don’ts of the commandments so that others can see our righteousness. Performance for an audience.

But Jesus zeros in on the heart of the matter. Better, the heart of men and women. Don’t murder, says Moses. Jesus ups the ante: “Don’t let anger burn inside.” Don’t commit adultery, says  Moses. Jesus ups the ante: “Don’t let what your eyes see capture your heart.” Marriage is forever, says the Designer of families. And His Son says, “Don’t you break that bond.” Do you see what I’m getting at? Jesus, the Savior, has a much tougher read on the law than our hard hearts will even allow us to see. And that’s because He set a divine law in our hearts that came from His. His … from His “insides.”

There’s no fudging this law. And not one of us can come close to satisfying it. Yes indeed, the law interpreted by our grand Savior is tougher by far than the bare commandments themselves. He commands obedience from the heart. The very thing I need Him to save.

Come, Lord Jesus!