Mark 10:18
Only God is Good
18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."
Matthew 5:21-26
Jesus on Anger toward Others
21 You know that our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” 22 But I promise you that if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.
23 So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.
25 Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don’t, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. 26 I promise you that you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.
Matthew 9:2
Jesus Forgives Sins of a Paralyzed Man
2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
Matthew 11:19
Jesus' Reputation Among His Opposition
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds."
Matthew 22:36-40
Two Greatest Commandments
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Take heart son, your sins are forgiven...Who says something like that?...
There once came a Man into our world and He dwelt here among us to teach, and said things just like that…He was a Traveling Teacher, of sorts…And to say He knew much about Mosaic Law and the entire Bible would be a complete understatement…He knew the exact interpretation, the obedience to the Law, and the exact meaning of the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and all of Scripture in its proper context…In fact, He knows morality and what man is supposed to do in all situations, whether good, bad, or indifferent...
The Law seemed rigid as other teachers of the law seemed to read it and explain it, but somehow this Man would frequently shatter and shock us with this older and rigid understanding of the Law of Moses and somehow give us the more loving and merciful, forgiving side of the Law…Somehow the Law was a little, if not a lot different the way, He interpreted the Law and taught it to others…In His parables, He upended expectations of the rigid and formal ways the Pharisees and teachers of the law and how they interpreted them…He was often questioned by these groups who tried to put Him in a corner and to test Him (about the Bible), but He always answered their testing-type questions and always answered them exactly right…
He was often in the company with those deemed unrighteous— those who needed forgiving, prostitutes, tax collectors, and others who were called sinners…He ate dinner a lot with these groups and gained the reputation of a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners -by those who thought the Laws of Moses were perfect rules to be followed, by the most righteous of believers…But He showed everyone that there is no one righteous or good…Only God is good…And so He went around forgiving those who did need forgiven…In fact, this is who He taught the most and who He was with the most…
For those who thought they knew what the coming Messiah of Israel would be like, they were wrong…A Man from Galilee never seeking power of any sort, stood rather passively before Pilate, who would eventually order the crucifixion of our Messiah…He allowed Pilate and the others to crucify Him...After all He is Divine...
A most unique, and maybe Solitary Itinerant Traveling Teacher was and is our Messiah…And for all those who wanted a military or political leader to lead them out of Roman control, they never got it...Jesus, completely independent in His thinking and defying every convention of His day, answered the most toughest questions of His critics and challenged His followers to follow a righteousness that exceeded that of the most religious-of-the-religious in His day…For He is Righteousness...
In His words and through His parable and proverbial ways of teaching, He told us that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it…Jesus gives us the true Mosaic Law in His teachings…Jesus would teach us more about the Law and its true intentions with His parables…He would teach a lot about love and forgiveness and mercy...Fulfilling the Law maybe best answered in LOVE…When Jesus gave us our two greatest commandments, He told us that they are about love…To love God and to love neighbor…