I met one of the women I was assigned to mentor last night.  Whoever put us together must have spent some time with it because it is a good fit.  We have things in common, and what she needs as a Christian, I happen to have the ability to provide.  I was worried that I would get someone who had needs that I wasn't equipped to deal with.  This is going to be interesting.

I ended last week in Matthew 5:17, "Let your light shine...".  And didn't follow up with the rest of Chapter 5, which is really interesting.  Matthew is making a point--to the Jews--that their laws didn't do the job that they were intended to do.  Their laws only showed them where they had failed.

Matthew quoted Jesus, as Jesus sat on a hill preaching to a huge crowd--and the Pharisees were in the group.  Pharisees were men who had pledged their lives to keeping the Mosaic laws, and what Jesus  is going to say will infuriate them.  He is going to tell the crowd that there is a way to live that is better than the law.  And Jesus spoke with authority.  The Pharisees were supposed to be the authority of the Mosaic law.  And Moses was an iconic figure in their traditions.

Who did this Jesus guy think he was anyway?  Didn't He know who they (the Pharisees) were?  Didn't he know that there was nothing greater than the Jewish Laws given by Moses?  This was blasphemy in their eyes.

Six times, Jesus said, "You have heard it said...".  And eight times Jesus said, "But I say unto you...".  He was contrasting the Mosaic laws with a new message-- His message.  And the problem for the Pharisees was, that when Jesus said, "But I say unto you ...", everyone was listening to Him.

Jesus has put the first link in His death sentence.  He is beginning to make a "chain" of events that will cost Him his life.   You don't mess with city hall.