What comes next is a whole series of "improvements" that Jesus offers to the law that Jewish people lived by.
If I was to stand up and say "I think we need to change the law," then people would rightly reply "Who gives you the right?"
But Jesus just assumed that he had the right to tinker with the law. What he actually thought he was doing to the law is a very interesting question and I'll talk about it another day, but for now, this is the question in my mind.
Jesus, who gives you the right?
I headed this post with a picture of a traffic policeman, because this is the best illustration I can think of to explain how Jesus was operating.
That cop doesn't have the power to stop the traffic. If a car kept going, the bobby would be knocked clean out of the way. But when a police officer in uniform stands in front of a vehicle and holds up her hand, the traffic comes to a halt.
Why? How?
If it's not power that does it, what is it?
It's authority.
Right at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew has this comment:
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
If Jesus is the new Moses, he is better than the original, because Moses was just the messenger. Jesus has authority to make new law.
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