The Heart of the Commands
- Pam Gilbert
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
One day, I was walking on a beach in Florida and stopped to look out at the ocean. Little did I know that someone was also looking at me. After a seagull nearby caught my attention, I turned and noticed a little boy. He was crouching in the sand, looking up at me. He had a huge smile and a hand full of something. I waved to him, trying to match his smile. He waved back to me. Then he turned to exchange words with his mom a little farther back. They both started to walk toward me.
He was excited to reveal the treasure in his hand—a shell. He proudly handed it to me. I admired the shell and tried to give it back, but he insisted I keep it. He stood with me for a minute, making sure I realized the wonder of his treasure. Then he ran off to see what else he could find.
His mom and I chatted briefly. I discovered his name was Joey, and he was two years old. I shared my appreciation for him with his mom. He was a kind boy with a quick smile and a generous heart. She laughed. She told me he and his sister were playing in the sand just a few minutes earlier. He asked his dad for a beach shovel. As soon as it was in his hand, he ran over to his sister and hit her with it. His dad took the shovel back. Joey asked if he could have it again. Then his Dad asked, “Are you going to use it to hit your sister?” And Joey said, “Yes!.” We both laughed.
It’s easy to laugh because Joey shows us something we all know. We are peculiar people - an odd mix of good and bad. At one point, we have all had a shovel in our hand ready to hit, yet we may have also held a treasure that we were ready to share.
We will turn the corner today in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus teaches us how we can live in God’s love. Dale Bruner summarizes it well: “God loves me enough to accept me the way I am [the Beatitudes], but God loves me too much to leave me that way [the Commands].” (1)
The Commands
Moses, as instructed by God, gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments. From then on, the Jewish community saw the law in the Commandments as a blessing. They were a blueprint for life. Jewish children were taught to ask their parents: “What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord has commanded you? (Deut 6:20) Then the parents answered, “The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case.” (Deut 6:24)
Some people in the crowd listening to Jesus may have been thinking about this and wondered, "How is this going to work?" Does Jesus follow the same teaching? Are we supposed to follow the Law now that Jesus is here?
Jesus understands. He tells them: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophet’s; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Mt 5:17) Dale Bruner suggests that we think of the Old Testament as Jesus’ Bible. (1) I think this is very helpful. We hang onto Jesus’ Bible. Jesus tells us that every bit of the Law and the Prophets is from God, and like God, it will endure forever, down to the smallest letter or stroke of the pen. (Mt 5:18)
Throughout scripture, we see that following the Law and the prophets is more than just following rules. We learn that if the Israelites obeyed everything God said in the Law, there would be no poor among them. (Deut 15: 4) With Jesus we discover a fuller understanding of the law that can be realized with him.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts what the hearers knew as commands and his vision for life in his kingdom. He gets to the heart of the matter by covering anger, contempt, hatred, lust, divorce, verbal manipulation, revenge, slapping, suing, cursing, coercing, and begging. (2) Jesus does not deny the law or the prophets. He affirms them. He fulfills them. Jesus transforms them.
Jesus tells us, “You have heard it said…But I say to you.” He starts with a law that the people gathered around him have probably checked off - murder. Jesus tells them, “You have heard it said, Do not murder.” The crowd is nodding their head. That’s right. I am with you. I am not a murderer. But then, Jesus takes it a step further, saying, “Do not even become angry enough to murder.” You may feel that you can comply with the command not to murder, but what about anger? What about your thoughts? What about your relationships? What about where you focus your attention, what you say, or how you deal with those who wrong you? Jesus helps you see that your heart and motives matter as much as your actions.
Remember, Jesus is not giving a new law. The point is not moralism. Jesus helps us see that even if we follow the laws, our hearts may not be in them. Our motivations may still not be in line with God’s intentions. It takes more than the power of our will to live well. Jesus is inviting us to a new way of living.
The commands show us what is pleasing to God. The point is not so much about not getting angry but the motive behind the anger. Is it rooted in love? Jesus became angry at injustice, but His anger did not lead to harm. Anger that harbors resentment, disdain, or contempt can lead to harm. Anger that looks down on others or dismisses them can lead to harm. The motivation or intent behind the anger matters.
What we need
Like the Israelites, like the people in the crowd around Jesus, we know the Law. We know what we are supposed to do. The problem is, we don’t do it. We are like Joey. Sometimes, our good heart shines through. Sometimes, we would really like to hit someone with a shovel.
I have always been drawn to the story of David found in Jesus’ Bible. When David was a boy, Samuel came to his home looking for a leader to replace King Saul. The Lord gave this advice to Samuel: “Do not consider his presence or his height…The Lord does not look at the things people look at…the Lord looks at the heart.” (ISam 16:7)
Have you ever wondered what God saw when he looked at David’s heart? David was a remarkable man of courage, loyalty, and generosity and an adulterer responsible for an innocent man’s death. While there is no way to know for sure, I think when God looked at David’s heart, he saw the man we see in Psalm 40. Here, David says:
“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord…Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you…I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” (v 4,5,8)
When God looked at David, he saw that David loved him and was committed to him. In order to have God’s law in his heart, he needed to know God intimately. When I look at this next section in the Sermon on the Mount, I see an invitation to be with God and grow God’s law in our hearts.
In the Bible, the heart controls your thoughts, feelings, and actions. It holds what you love most. We need God to give us a new heart to understand. (3) We need eyes to see and ears to hear (Deut 29:3,4). People with a new heart obey God and follow his commands because they want to. People with a new heart begin to want what God wants.
At the core of the Law and the Prophets, you find the love, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration of God. The Law, as God intends it to be, is good. We were made to be good as people who are made in the image of God. God sees more in us than we see in ourselves. We can be people who live with tenderness toward everyone. (2) We can be merciful, as God our Father is merciful. (Lk 6:36). We can seek peace and goodness for others and respond with compassion and integrity in all our dealings. We can become the kind of person who lives our life in such a way that we become good news to others. (4)
Everything in the law and the prophets points to Jesus. When Jesus comes, he gives his followers the blueprints for God’s vision that works. The focus is not on the particulars of the law but on God himself and what will please Him. He offers a new kind of righteousness that surpasses that of the experts of the Law. It is a righteousness that knows how to live and becomes an expression of God’s love. As David, the psalmist, wrote: “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” (Ps 40:8).
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Pro 4:23 NLT
Jesus said,” Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures - God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together…God’s law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out, God’s law will be alive and working.”
Mt 5: 17-19, MSG
If you want to go deeper…
Read Matthew 5: 17-48. Keep in mind that God’s love and mercy are at the center of the law.
Read Psalm 40. What does it show us about living on the rock?
George Whitefield, a well-known preacher from the 18th century, used to ask himself this question each day: Have I thought or spoken unkindly, unsympathetically, or uncharitably about anyone? Try it. It’s not an easy question. Notice patterns in your behavior. Talk to God about it. What could you do to live more in a way that reflects the heart of God?
Be on the lookout for God’s goodness throughout the day. Living with a new heart reflects God’s goodness.
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Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew A Commentary: The Christbook: Matthew 1-12
Dallas Willard summarizes it this way: Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God.
New heart - Ez 1:19, 36:26; Jer 24:7, 31:33; Heb 8:10; Similar Jn3:3 - born again
The phrase “good news,” Gem and Alan Fadling, What Does Your Soul Love?