Open the Bible UK Daily Colin Smith

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” MATTHEW 5:20
The scribes and Pharisees devoted their entire lives to the pursuit of righteousness. To follow the law was their vocation. So, how could our righteousness ever exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees?
Jesus was scathing in His critique of the Pharisees because their “righteousness” was arrogant. The Pharisees liked to pray where they could be seen, but Jesus told His disciples to do their praying in private: “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:6). The Pharisees also liked people to know what they were giving, but Jesus said to His disciples, “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matt. 6:3-4).
Jesus also criticised the Pharisees because their righteousness was external: “You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25). People look at the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.
Jesus was saying, in effect, “If you are going to enter heaven, you need a better righteousness than the Pharisees.” At this point, someone might say, “This is why we need to trust Jesus as Saviour so that we will have His perfect righteousness, which is better by far than that of the Pharisees.” That is true. But it is not what Jesus is saying here.
Jesus is calling His disciples to the pursuit of a righteous life: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Jesus calls us to pursue a better righteousness, one that is humble and comes from the heart.

Where do you see glimpses of arrogant or external righteousness in your own life?
Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk

“I have not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfil them.” MATTHEW 5:17Jesus came into the world to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, and He did this in His death.
The prophets had spoken of a suffering servant who would be “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5). And in the Psalms, David described the suffering of a man whose hands and feet would be pierced (22:16). He would be mocked (22:7). His bones would be pulled out of joint (22:14). His clothes would be divided by casting lots (22:18). He would cry out in agony, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (22:1). And when Jesus went to the cross, these prophecies were fulfilled.
The law prescribes penalties as well as requirements. Blessings would follow obeying God’s law. Curses would follow breaking God’s law. “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Gal. 3:10). We have an obligation to the law of God that we have not fulfilled, and our failure to fulfil the law brings a curse.
But Jesus came on a mission to fulfil the law. He fulfils the requirements of the law in His life, and He paid the penalties of the law in His death: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13). The curse that would have been on us, fell on Him. That is why, “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

Are you still living as if you are under the curse of the law with all its guilt and condemnation? Or are you resting in the finished work of Jesus?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk

“I have not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfil them.” MATTHEW 5:17Jesus came into the world to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, and He did this in His birth and in His life.
The prophets had spoken about the One who was to come, on whom the hope of the world depends. The prophet Isaiah said that a virgin would conceive and bear a son (Isa. 7:14), and when Mary bore Jesus, this prophecy was fulfilled. The prophet Micah said that the One who would rule and shepherd God’s people would come out of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2, 4), and when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, this prophecy was fulfilled.
The law tells us what God’s revealed will is for us. Jesus said to the disciples on one occasion: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Jesus loved doing the Father’s will. It was food to Him, and He could say supremely, “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psa. 40:8).
Another time Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). He also said, “He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (John 8:29).
By God’s grace, we can sometimes say that we do things that please the Father, but only Jesus could say, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Jesus could honestly say, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Jesus fulfilled—lived out—everything that the law requires of us.

Can you imagine how much joy and peace Jesus must have had, knowing that He was fulfilling everything that His Father required of Him?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. MATTHEW 5:17This is Jesus' first statement about why He came.
A good teacher anticipates misunderstanding, and here, Jesus corrects a false assumption. Many people think the Bible says: 1) we are all sinners under the condemnation of God’s law; 2) Jesus came to pay the price of our sins; and 3) now we can get on with our lives much as we did before, but we must always remember to thank Him.
But this is a complete misunderstanding of the Bible. Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law and Prophets. And then He adds, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (5:18).
One day, heaven and earth will pass away. On that day, God will create a new heaven and a new earth. This old planet will be renewed and restored, and it will be finally released from its pain and groaning. And when that day comes, the law will pass away, because its work will be done. The righteous will be declared “not guilty,” and the wicked will be condemned.
When that day comes, the prophets will pass away because all that they predicted will be accomplished. Faith will be turned to sight. God will be with His people and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. The new heaven and the new earth will be the home of righteousness, and the wicked will be outside forever.
But until that day comes, the Law and the Prophets remain. Jesus did not come into the world so that we might say, “There is no more law.” The law stands as God’s definition of righteousness. God tells us what a good life looks like, and it would be a complete misunderstanding to think that because Jesus came, we have no more duty toward the law of God.

Did you include this in your top three reasons why Jesus came? Why or why not?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk

“I came that they may have life.” John 10:10It will soon be Christmas when we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ. God came down from heaven and entered our world. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Why did Jesus come? The entire New Testament answers that question.
Paul tells us that Jesus came to reconcile us to God:“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19).John tells us: “The Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14).The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus came to “destroy the one who has the power of death” and to “bring many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:14, 10).The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus came to ransom “people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
Did Jesus Himself ever speak directly about why He came into the world? Did He ever say “Here is the reason why I have come into the world”? Yes, He did. Perhaps the best-known example is when Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). What a marvellous promise!
We are going to look at six occasions when Jesus spoke directly and personally about why He came into the world. There were other occasions when Jesus spoke about this indirectly: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Son of Man came… to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). But in these six examples, we are going to hear, in Jesus’ own words, why He came into the world.

What would you say are the three most important reasons why Jesus came into the world?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again… And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Mark 8:31-33
When Jesus spoke about “the things of God,” He was referring to what He had just said: that He must die and rise again. Satan did all that he could to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. He must have known that this would spell his ultimate defeat.
But what the world most needs from Jesus is that He should suffer, be rejected, be killed, and on the third day rise again—and this is what He has done! Why was this so important? Because, at the cross, Jesus made atonement for our sins. He bore the punishment that would have been ours. He made peace with God. He reconciled us to the Father.
This is the reason why Satan did everything in his power to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. He laid hold of the mind and heart of Peter and cried out through his voice, “This shall never happen to you!”
But despite all the opposition of Satan, and even of His own disciples, Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem, and there He laid down His life for us. What the world needs most from Jesus is the atonement He made for our sins. And this He accomplished through His death and resurrection. He is the Christ. And He offers grace, mercy, forgiveness, and peace to all who will trust in Him.

What do you think you most need from Jesus?
Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish
www.openthebible.org.uk