Could it be - the messiah?

Morsels of food are delicious because of the little things, the subtle seasonings, the dash of salt, the sprinkle of garlic, the garnish of parsley, the touch of glaze, or the hint of lemon.  Ahhhh - so delicious!

From the beginning of the time Jesus chose to start his public teaching and healing, he established that he was the expected messiah.  He spoke of his father as if he had been in his presence talking to him.  He called himself by a title, the Son of Man, that clearly identified him as the one whom the Jews were expecting to lead them into a new earthly empire (as opposed to the Roman Empire and the Greek empire before that).  But what the people remembered most clearly about his teachings, and the reason so many went to the hills to hear him speak, was the way Jesus distinguished himself from the way the Law was taught and practiced.  To the everyday people, Jesus stood apart from the rabbis and the religious sects that had grown up in Judaism.

Matthew (5.17-48) records the way Jesus presented himself to the everyday people with six verse viewpoints that immediately followed the μακαριοι sayings.  These viewpoints were easy to remember because they resembled the rabbis's teachings.  Given the nuances that can be seen in some of the language used, it would appear that Jesus was using a well known form but with great irony so that the people could see how simple and sensible the Law really was.  The people admired Jesus at first because he was refreshingly so different in his view of how the Old Testament was to be practiced.  As time went on, many decided that he was indeed the messiah.  And as more time passed, people understood that Jesus was also saying he was the Almighty's son.  But, this last part wasn't so distinguishable as Jesus spoke this one afternoon on the side of a hill to people who had gathered to see him.

Jesus began with what makes one favored in his father's sight, then ventured into the idea that merely following rules wasn't the Law's intent.  The Law's intent was to show people how they should think about life's circumstances.  It was to show them where their hearts should be centered so that the decency of their actions could be seen.  The sayings themselves were not designed to be law replacements but were explanations using a style that rabbis were in the habit of using.  The explanations showed the spirit of the Law succinctly and plainly.

Jesus was very clear about his position and purpose concerning the Law and the Prophets.

μη νομισητε οτι ηλθον καταλυσαι τον νομον η τους προφητας 

                  ουκ ηλθον καταλυσαι αλλα πληρωσαι

(Don't think that I have come to make the Law and the Prophets fall into disuse.

                           I have not come to make them fall into disuse, rather to make them have                             fuller meaning.)

εως αν παρελθη ο ουρανος και η γη ιωτα εν η μια κεραια 
  ου μη παρελθη απο του νομου εως αν παντα γενηται
(Even if earth and sky vanish, not one of the Law's smallest nuances of meaning
                             will vanish until it has all happened.)

Of course, Jesus knew his purpose as messiah was to usher in the beginning of a new age, ending the age of the Old Covenant, so he felt free to give the Law proper tribute and prepare them for the age of the messiah.  With great ease he used the familiar form of instruction the rabbis used to organize their teachings.  He chose five points of the Law to give fuller meaning to.  He started with quoting them, then clearly associating them with the condition of one's heart while acting on the point.

Jesus spoke:

You have heard it was said to our ancestors, "Don't murder.  If you do, you're accountable for your sentence."  I'm telling you if you make another person mad at you, you're accountable for a sentence.  If you call someone a libelous term, you're accountable to the high court.  And if you tell someone they don't have the mental capacity to deal with a situation, you're accountable to the Valley of Hinnom's fire of atrocity." (Matthew 5.21,22)

Six times Jesus quoted the Law.  Six times he told of a person's heart condition so that the people could see the underlying sense of the Law rather than the drudgery of doing what it said.

ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη… εγω δε λεγω υμιν 
(You have heard it was said... I'm telling you.)

1) Verse 21 - You have heard it was said to our ancestors... (Exodus 20.13)
    Verse 22 - I'm telling you that...
2) Verse 27 - You have heard it was said... (Exodus 20.14)

    Verse 28 - I'm telling you that...
3) Verse 31 - It was said... (Deuteronomy 24.1)
    Verse 32 - I'm telling you that...
4) Verse 33 - You have heard it was said to our ancestors... (Numbers 30.2)
    Verse 34 - I'm telling you...
5) Verse 38 - You have heard it was said... (Exodus 21.24, Leviticus 24.20,
                  Deuteronomy 19.21)
    Verse 38 - I'm telling you...
6) Verse 43 - You have heard it was said... (Leviticus 19.18)
    Verse 44 - I'm telling you...

Jesus gave the everyday people a really clear sign that he was not a part of the business-as-usual crowd of the power establishment.  His manner of "scripture" presentation was accompanied with such a manner of ease it seemed irreverent.  The rabbis had created a "holy" aura surrounding the handling of scripture.  The two presentation styles were so different the people had to have been curious to see how well this new teacher would hold his own.  Jesus had no schooling in the rabbinic tradition to know the Law so well.  Yet he did.  He handled the verses with such facility and poignant application, it was as if he had been alive when it was written.  As the people listened on this afternoon, I'm sure that several thoughts crossed their minds, "How could this young man teach as if he had been a rabbi all his life.  How did he know what the intent of the Law was so well?  Am I a sucker to think he is the messiah?"

Another stylistic comparison jumped out at the people.  There was a certain style the rabbis had of explaining the Talmud.  I as a gentile reader haven't always had the appreciation that Jews have had for the Talmud.  The Talmud included the Old Testament verses, but also included the oral traditions that had grown up around the Old Testament.  These oral traditions, too, had been written down, so one could refer to the written text of the Old Testament, the explanation of the current rabbis, and the written record of oral traditions of rabbis from years before.  This latter had a particular form.  Many times it would begin with "You have heard it said..." with an explanation to follow.  It was customary for former rabbis to be quoted.  But if not, a set of footnotes followed to show how the rabbis had arrived at the conclusions of their explanations over the years.  An example of such a style is linked here.  There are labels for the different sections, but it is the style that is important, not the names of the various sections.

The people noticed the difference between this careful, meticulous, rabbinic style and Jesus's non-meticulous, off-the-cuff style.  Jesus taught in the hills and valleys, in places with no walls and roofs not mostly in the synagogues.  On the occasions Jesus did teach in town synagogues, it was in various places as a guest speaker, not in a specific place so that he could build a reputation there.  Jesus taught with no preparation for his comments (How did he do that?) rather than poring over a verse to see what had been written about it for years and years.  Jesus referred to his own thinking, not the thinking of other current or past rabbis.  The people loved Jesus for this.  They came to hear him because his reputation had preceded him.  Even people from Jerusalem had heard from northern Galilean Jews that the messiah had come, so they too were drifting up to see for themselves.

In the verses here there are two tasty morsels - one at the beginning, one at the end.  Jesus began two of the six explanations with,  ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη τοις αρχαιοις (You have heard it said to our ancestors). The word for ancestors,  αρχαιοις, was a pun.  Other Greek documents used the word to refer to something that was worn out and ready for something new.  Assuming that people understood the pun, they knew the primary meaning of "ancestors," but they also understood that Jesus was saying, "You have heard this worn out oral tradition...."  You have to love Jesus for being so plain spoken and subtly trying to ready the people for the new age.  Even if the pun was not a part of the phrasing in the Aramaic that Jesus spoke, Jesus's later followers used the Greek language to apply the pun.

In addition, Jesus had begun this portion of his sayings with people's behavior.  But, his teaching ended with a note about the "father's" behavior.  The use of the term "father" was Jesus's trademark difference from the teaching of the rabbis about the Almighty of the Talmud.  Who would dare to refer to God so flippantly?  Of course, Jesus didn't make it flippant, those steeped in oral tradition made it flippant.  Jesus used "father" to show that God was still very present in his children's lives, the everyday people's lives, whose taste of God came from traditions of the Talmud, which was often viewed as oppressive and distant.  They needed to hear from the messiah, if so he was, that God was not only the God of the ancestors but a God who was familiar with them too.

So Jesus ends with a note about their father:

εσεσθη ουν υμεις τελειοι ως ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος τελειος εστιν

(So have intergrity of your father in heaven.)

This last word of these six explanations about people's behavior derived from the principle of verse 45, God's behavior, and God's behavior was highlighted with the word "integrity."  God's integrity was unmistakable because he sent his rain on good and evil people alike, and allowed his sun to rise on decent and indecent people alike.  The part with a pun was the word for integrity, τελειος.  It also meant maturity .  It's as if Jesus was also saying that he just outlined for everyone what adults do, not children.  They should just behave decently.  That's how adults act in a mature world.  Rules were made to help people mature.  When they grow up, then they act from the knowledge of the right thing to do.

People were hoping for a messiah.  People were ready for a messiah.  Their faith was worn out.  Jesus was the messiah, bringing his people to a new age.  They would live together in harmony and with integrity.  They would act from good hearts and their father would smile on them favorably.  The first followers felt relieved that Jesus, the messiah had finally come.  I am sure they would have raised their voices to sing the following song with all of us whose hearts need a shock treatment because our faith is worn out.