needs to be changed in us so that they can see Him clearly? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew 5:17- 20 The Jewish hierarchy of Jesus’ day were often literalists in their interpretation of the Law of God, which had been given to them through Moses. Jesus, however, gave a deeper meaning to the Law. He placed His focus on the goal of the Law: perfect love. He taught it through His words and in the ways He treated people. His non-literal view caused some confusion, so Jesus clarified His meaning. In effect, He said, “The interpretation that I give to the Law does not mean that the laws are invalid. Rather, it shows that you are not even fulfilling the Law if your so-called obedience isn’t motivated by love for God and love for neighbor (see Matt. 22:35-40).” When Jesus spoke of heaven and earth passing away (verse 18), He was not referring to a literal end of the universe. Astute Jewish listeners understood the connection to the well-known prophecy in Isaiah 65:17, where God promised to create a new heaven and a new earth by sending the Messiah. They didn’t know it yet, but the passing away of the old heaven and earth was going to happen at the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And this was not going to happen until Jesus had finished His work by fulfilling the true meaning of each and every law. As our true Messiah, He had to make up for every failure, fill in every gap, and restore everything that was lacking in the way mankind had obeyed God. In this way, He gave His absolute, complete love to each of us. Therefore (verse 19), as His followers, we also are to be generous with love. Obeying all the commandments—truly obeying them—requires loving God with our whole heart and our whole soul and our whole mind, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. For example, consider the Church law that says we must attend Mass every weekend, and m...
