Matthew 5:17-20 Teaching Others
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: January 29, 2019, Matthew 5:17-20
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Understanding the Text) Here, Jesus is not talking only about the ten commandments. They are included because they are in the scriptures, but here, Jesus is referring to the Old Testament. He is confirming the inspiration of the Old Testament canon of His day indirectly by saying that they will be needed until heaven and earth pass away. Jesus is the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. Some of it He has already fulfilled, such as the sacrificial system and the predictions of His first coming, some of it He is fulfilling now, such as the office of priestly duties, and some of it will be fulfilled in the future, such as the second coming predictions. Jesus said once that the scribes studied the law because in it they thought that they had eternal life and that the law that they studied testified of Him, i.e., the Old Testament was all about Jesus, and Jesus was not getting rid of it. He was fulfilling the predictions made in it.
Jesus tells us not to minimize the Old Testament to others. He does not kick those who do so out of the kingdom of heaven, but He calls them least. Here, I don’t think He refers to a future reward, but to our position right now in the kingdom of heaven as His younger brothers and sisters. Right now, the people who are considered to be great in the kingdom are those who live by God’s word and exalt it to others. Those who are considered to be less important in the kingdom of heaven are those who minimize the importance of the scriptures to others.
It’s interesting that the “least” part is associated only with teaching others to minimize the Old Testament, but the “great” part is not just about teaching but also about character. The great part is about doing and teaching. In fact, it goes on to speak of the kind of righteousness needed to even become part of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is saying that He is not speaking of outward righteousness, or the appearance of righteousness like the Pharisees practiced. Instead, He is speaking of an inward righteousness that shines forth to others. The implication here is that taking the information of the Old Testament and implementing it in your life and teaching others about it is transformative causing the child of God to become inwardly and outwardly righteous.
(Revelation of God) God is not concerned with outward obedience. He is not concerned with words that do not transform us. God wants us to be whole–inside and out. To accomplish this, He has been revealing Himself bit-by-bit throughout the scriptures. When we read the Bible as a whole, we begin to see the totality of God. Those people who only focus on the New Testament are missing part of the picture. Jesus pointed us to the whole scriptures–all of the law and the prophets of His day. We need to study the Bible as a cohesive unit in order to begin to appreciate the magnificent God that we serve. Then as we see Him more and more clearly, He can transform us more and more closely to His image rather than the satanic image that we possess without Jesus.
(Application) My application to myself is that I have a promise that Jesus will transform me as I read the scriptures. Again this is just an extension of the blessings. Both the Beatitudes and this part of the sermon are describing the transformative process that creates righteousness inside us.
(Prayer) Help me to see You more clearly and to value the lessons that You have provided in Your word. Help me to teach others from Your word and never minimize the importance of the messages that You have given in the Bible. Most of all, I want to see beyond the pages into Your heart and be transformed by Your beauty. Give me a heart of love.