Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 NASB
Moses climbed the mountain with two tablets of stone for God to write on. The Ten Commandments on those stones was God’s summary of the Old Testament Law. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is basically a restatement of that Law, seen through the eyes of grace. Jesus climbed the mountain to give His followers a superior way to live out those Ten Commandments of the Old Covenant. Jesus was giving them (and us!) a New and better Covenant.
Jesus didn’t come to set aside the Law of the Old Covenant, but to fulfill it. The “newness” of the Covenant is the way in which it is fulfilled. No longer is the emphasis on the outward duty. The New and better Covenant is fulfilled by the inward transformation of our hearts. We prepare and present our hearts to God . . . and He writes His Word upon it. Jesus IS The Word (see John 1:14). This is how Jesus fulfills the Old Covenant. He becomes God’s promises written on the tablets of our hearts. He transforms our hearts through grace, enabling us to keep God’s laws.
God’s Kingdom is offered to those who will present the tablets of their hearts to Him in full surrender and learn the ways of Christ. Come, present the tablets of your heart for God to write on. Receive The Word Himself. Then He begins to transform you into the “blessed one” who inherits the Kingdom of Heaven.
Amen!