PatriciaCourtesy of GC Office of Adventist Mission
Patricia lives in central Cameroon. She’s a lot like other girls. She likes to jump rope and talk with her friends. But in some ways Patricia is different from other children. She has HIV and often feels sick. Two years ago Patricia’s mother died of AIDS, and Patricia and her sister went to live with their grandmother. Her father couldn’t pay the girls’ tuition at the Adventist school they had been attending, so [...]
Further Study: Ellen G. White, The Sermon on the Mount, pp. 298-314 in The Desire of Ages.
Jesus takes up the commandments separately, and explains the depth and breadth of their requirement. Instead of removing one jot of their force, He shows how far reaching their principles are, and exposes the fatal mistake of the Jews in their outward show of obedience. He declares that by the evil thought or the lustful look the law of God is transgressed. One who [...]
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[Thought questions for Christ and the Law in the Sermon on the Mount April 23, 2014]
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1. Destroy or fulfill? If you make a promise and keep it, does the promise still exist? Or has it vanished? Since the law points to our errors and mistakes, what is there to love about it? Do you love the law? Are you relieved when you see traffic laws such as speed limits and traffic lights? What about God’s law? [...]
(Matt. 5:38-48)
It appears that the common theme here (Matt. 5:38-48) is revenge. This first theme concerns the many commandments in the Mosaic law that are built on the principle of repaying a crime with an equal punishment, an idea called lex talionis, a Latin term meaning law of retaliation.
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As we see in a number of passages (Exod. 21:22-25, Lev. 24:17-21, Deut. 19:21), the law called for the offender to suffer the same experience as [...]
Informal discussion regarding this week’s Sabbath School lesson with author Dr. Keith Burton on Vimeo in less than 30 minutes:
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(Matt. 5:33-37)
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The first two antitheses (murder and adultery) are based on the Decalogue. The antithesis regarding divorce and the ones that follow are taken from other sections of the Mosaic law, including the one about swearing falsely and performing oaths to the Lord.
Read Leviticus 19:11-13. What specific points do we find here? See also Exod. 20:7.
The Mosaic law, from which Jesus quotes, is listed in a section of Leviticus that condemns a number of deceptive [...]
(Matt 5:27-32)
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Jesus’ next example involves commandments concerning adultery. He first cites the seventh commandment, You shall not commit adultery. In the context of the law of Moses, adultery took place when a married person was sexually involved with someone other than a spouse. The law was very clear that both parties found guilty of adultery should be put to death. As with the sixth commandment, Jesus gave the deeper implications of this particular commandment.
Adultery [...]
(Matt 5:21-26)
After He clarified His intention to uphold the law, Jesus started to explain a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. He begins by citing the sixth commandment (Exod. 20:13) and summarizing, from the law of Moses, the penalty for violation (Exod. 21:12, Lev. 24:17).
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The sixth commandment does not include all cases in which one person kills another. In cases of manslaughter, a person could flee to a city of refuge [...]
Read again Matthew 5:17-20. How interesting that Jesus would greatly emphasize the law here, while at the same time making the statement that He did about the scribes and Pharisees, who so greatly emphasized the law, as well. What important lesson does this passage teach about true obedience to the law?
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Jesus begins this section with the assurance that He has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets (Matt. 5:17, NKJV). Although there [...]
