What did Jesus say? In Matthew 5-7 is Jesus's famous Sermon on the Mount. In this speech, Jesus sets up a new ideal to live by and teaches how to pray. Jesus explains how He has come to fulfill the old law. So what exactly did this mean for the people Jesus was preaching to? And what does it mean to us today?
Jesus came to fulfill the law. Because he fulfills the law, we can live by a higher standard. We all fall short of perfection, yet we are commanded to be perfect, because through Christ we can be made perfect. In these scriptures Jesus gives an impossibly high standard by which to live. Yet, if we try to live it, even though ultimately we will fall short, Christ will complete were we fail.
Also, Jesus was giving a better way to live, to set Christians apart from non-Christians. This way Christians can be the example to the world and be a witness of Jesus.
The standards Jesus sets in the Sermon on the Mount seem impossible. Yet, as Christians, we are commanded to live this way. I feel that Jesus is not necessarily saying we will reach this goal in life, but the closer to the goal we are, the more prepared we will be to meet God. At the end of Matthew 7 Jesus gives the parable of the wise man, who prepared his house on a firm foundation and was able to meet the rain fearlessly. I believe if we build a firm foundation through striving to live up to Jesus's ideal, we will be prepared to meet any "rain."
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