The Law of the King

The United States has some really odd laws. For example, in Arkansas, honking your horn near a sandwich shop after 9 p.m. is against the law. In Topeka, Kansas, it is illegal to sing the alphabet out on the street at night. These, and others, all reflect the desire to control specific outward behaviors. Religious leaders in Jesus’ day had that desire too, and it resulted in laws like…spitting on the ground was forbidden on the Sabbath because it might disturb the dirt, which was equated with plowing. Jesus is different than religion like that. He insisted that law keeping is a matter of the heart. Matthew 5:21-48 describes his law, but more so, contains 5 descriptions of the heart that Jesus commands us to cultivate as Christians so that we are more virtuous like God.