I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 5-6.

    This passage is central to my understanding of what it means to follow Christ. I do not think I can possibly cover all of the things of importance here in one blog entry. That being said, there are a couple of over-arching themes which cover most of what Jesus says here. In some ways the rest of the passage in an expansion on what it means to fulfill the characteristics listed in the Beatitudes. Jesus explains how we can live with humility, purity, and righteousness. We cannot accomplish these things by obeying the letter of the law. No set of rules, no matter how well thought out, can cover every eventuality. But even more so, being pure, righteous, humble, godly, etc. cannot be accomplished by following a set of rules. Rather we must strive for doing what is best for others and ourselves. This does not mean that we do not follow the rules. It means that we go beyond the rules.

    The first point Jesus makes after the Beatitudes is that being righteous is about changing the world around us. At first glance it appears that Jesus’ teachings about being noticed and making a difference are contrary to His teachings a few verses later about not doing things to be noticed. However, if you read the whole passage carefully you realize that the latter verses are actually further explanation of the first verses on salt and light. We do not change the world by making people think we are righteous, good people. Rather, we change the world by making people realize that we are damaged, sinful people who do the right thing despite our weaknesses.