Below is another devotion from my friend Angel Torres. I pray it blesses you!
Throughout Matthew 5 (which is the beginning of the Lord’s famous Sermon on the Mount) we read of the Lord Jesus quoting directly from the Old Testament or, as in the case of the second half of Matthew 5:43, referencing what were likely rabbinical interpretations and traditions that had been elevated by the people to the same level as Scripture. But what struck me as I made my way through Matthew 5 is how often the Lord said “But I say unto you” in response to what the people had heard aforetime. That statement—or a close variation of it—appears nine times in this chapter in the Authorized Version.
I was reminded that there has never been a shortage of opinions—whether in our own age or in those before us. Divergent views on worship, marriage, and justice were already present just a few generations after Adam (see Genesis 4:3–5, 23–24). We also read in the Old Testament how the nation of Israel experienced great political and cultural change (e.g., living under Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek, and then Roman rule). Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus, God in human flesh, has the authority to amend or extend His Word however He pleases. And in the context of Matthew 5, He pointed His listeners back to the authority of God’s Word:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).
The Lord Jesus did not come to contradict the Old Testament Scriptures. Rather, He came as the fulfillment of them! Now, you are surrounded by opinions—at work, at home, and everywhere else. Your supervisor has theirs; your spouse and children have theirs. So do you. No one is neutral. Ultimately, however, we must decide who we’re going to believe: God, or fallible man. There is no neutral ground (Matthew 12:30). For this reason, we need to stop measuring God’s infallible Word against man’s fallible opinions and start measuring man’s fallible opinions against God’s infallible Word!
Finally, my wife recently reminded me of something critical: We shouldn’t harden our hearts toward the “things hard to be understood” (2 Peter 3:16) in Scripture. Instead, may we humbly come before the living God and ask Him to help us understand and apply His Word. That, my friends, is a request the Lord has promised He will fulfill:
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Beautifully written.
BUT HE SAYS UNTO YOU: When Jesus Interrupts the Noise. m.r.neveu
• Jesus doesn’t compete with human opinions. He overrules them with love and authority.
• The Christian life is learning to hear the Shepherd’s voice above our static.
• Spiritual maturity means letting Scripture correct even the opinions we most cherish.
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The Comments
Angel Torres’ wonderful devotional reminds me of Jesus’ habit, stepping into crowded rooms full of opinions and calmly saying, “But I say unto you.” Angel notes that this phrase appears repeatedly in Matthew 5, that “there has never been a shortage of opinions—whether in our own age or in those before us.”
True. Humanity has always been a noisy species. We generate commentary the way oak trees shed leaves…constantly, everywhere, and usually without asking permission. A lot like me that way.
But Jesus doesn’t enter the conversation as another pundit. He enters as the Author.
He doesn’t shout. He clarifies.
He doesn’t argue. He fulfills.
He doesn’t tear down the Law. He completes its architecture from the inside out.
Angel quotes Jesus: “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” That’s the narrative hook, the hinge, the syrup on the banana split. The Lord doesn’t offer a counter opinion. He reveals the original blueprint.
Ya know, Sometimes, the loudest opinions I face, and spout, ain’t from other folks.
Dey be from me.
We carry internal rabbis, internal critics, internal traditions we’ve elevated to the level of Scripture. We be everything we seem to need to be, when we desperately don’t know it.
• “I’ll never change.”
• “This is just who I am.”
• “God forgives, but He probably winces when He sees me coming.”
These are not the voice of Jesus.
These are echoes of old teachers we never meant to hire, or aspire to be.
We be too busy prosecuting the best part of ourselves in knee-jerk motion, to a rule we don’t follow or understand, when we should be paying attention…chilled, scrupulous attention,
To the Teacher’s voice, “ But I say unto you.”
And into my inner courtroom, Jesus still strides in and gently whispers, “But I say unto you.”
He says it to the shame I’ve carried for years.
He says it to the fear that wakes me at 3 a.m.
He says it to the bitterness I’ve been nursing like a wounded pet.
He says it to the self story I’ve repeated so often I’ve forgotten it’s fiction.
Angel’s devotional reminds me that “I must decide who I’m going to believe: God, or fallible man.” …Watch this:
I must also decide whether I will believe God over my own fallible self-narratives.
The Sermon on the Mount is not Jesus correcting the world’s opinions. It’s Jesus correcting mine.
He is not merely the fulfillment of Scripture. He is the fulfillment of all of us.
He is the One who knows what I was meant to be before the world, my wounds, or my voice tried to rewrite the script.
And when I come to the “things hard to be understood,” as Angel quotes from 2 Peter, Jesus does not shame me for my confusion. He invites me to ask, seek, knock…and promises that the door will open. Not because we are clever, but because He is kind.
Tonight, let this percolate:
The Christian walk is learning to let Jesus interrupt us.
Interrupt our assumptions.
Interrupt our inherited opinions.
Interrupt our self-condemnation.
Interrupt our certainty that we already know how the story ends.
Every time He says, “But I say unto you,” He is not contradicting us.
He is rescuing us.
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…Words for the Children
Jesus loves to help you understand His words. When something in the Bible feels confusing, you can ask Him for help…and He promises He will answer you. His voice is never scary. It’s always kind.
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Last mic spot:
Angel’s devotional calls me back to the authority of Christ’s voice. Tonight, I go one step further, and invite that voice to interrupt me, and correct not only the world around me, but the world within me. Let Jesus be the One who gets the final word. Not my fears, not my habits, not my history, not my opinions.
It’s the gentlest rescue I’ll ever experience.
When Jesus says, “But I say unto you,” He isn’t arguing…He’s unveiling who we were always meant to be.
Very nicely done, Angel – thanks.