Through The Bible in a Year - June 5, 2026

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder'... But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment... You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28

Jesus takes the law everyone thought they could keep and raises the bar impossibly high.

Murder? "I haven't killed anyone. I'm good!"

Jesus: "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. Whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to the hell of fire."

Being angry brings you under judgment? Insulting someone breaks the commandment against murder? Name-calling sends you to hell?

Adultery? "I've been faithful to my spouse. I'm good!"

Jesus: "Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Looking with lust is adultery?

Jesus can't be serious. This is unreasonable. Unrealistic. An impossible standard.

And that's exactly the point.

Jesus isn't trying to help us check boxes. He's trying to break us from ourselves.

As long as we think, "I've done the best I can, and certainly better than those people over there," we won't cry out for help. We'll keep trying to measure up.

But Jesus says: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

The scribes and Pharisees were the most outwardly righteous people in Israel. They fasted, prayed, gave, obeyed. And Jesus says your righteousness has to exceed theirs?

How? It's impossible!

Exactly. You can't measure up.

Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist, once said, "Ain't no such thing as I can hate anybody and see God's face."

Is Jesus serious? Yes. Verses 23-24: "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

Our minds rebel: "This is unreasonable! Look at what that person said to me! Look how they insulted my family! Look at how everyone talks about everyone else in the media, in politics, on social media!"

And Jesus says: "I know. And you still can't measure up to My standard."

Respond: Have you been trying to measure up? Comparing yourself to others? Thinking you're doing pretty well?

Jesus wants to break you of that. Not to crush you, but to humble you. Not to destroy you, but to prepare you to receive what you cannot earn.

This week, stop comparing yourself to others. Stop trying to check all the boxes. Instead, read Matthew 5:21-48 slowly and honestly.

Let the weight of God's perfect standard press on you until you say: "Jesus, I can't measure up. I need help."

That's when the blessing comes.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I've been trying to measure up. I've been comparing myself to others and thinking I'm doing okay. But Your standard is perfect—and I fall short every day. I get angry. I insult. I lust. I judge. I fail. I can't measure up. I need help. Break me from my self-sufficiency. Humble me. Prepare me to receive what I cannot earn. In Your name, Amen.