In the 4th chapter of Luke, we read that Jesus went to the synagogue on the sabbath “as his custom was” (Luke 4:16) in his hometown of Nazareth. We learn in this verse that Jesus was a church goer. He stands to read. He is handed the scroll containing the book of Isaiah. He then reads from what we today would refer to as Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 and the first half of verse 2. He then sits down and tells the people that this scripture is fulfilled in their ears (Luke 4:21). He then leaves Nazareth and goes to Capernaum (see Luke 4:31) and as He is in Galilee preaching He gives the Sermon on the Mount.
It was here on the Mount of Beatitudes that we see Isaiah 61, in part, fulfill. (all quotes are from King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Isaiah 61:1 – the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.
Mathew 5:5 – blessed are the meek:
Isaiah 61:7 – therefore in their land they shall possess
Matthew 5:5 – for they shall inherit the earth.
Isaiah 61:2 – to comfort all that mourn;
Mathew 5:4 – blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents a scripture from Moses, sometimes misunderstood by the people, and teaches a higher law than what Moses taught. In fact in the opening version of Mathew chapter 5 it says that Jesus “went up into a mountain” (Mathew 5:1). The Greek words translated “went up into a mountain” are found only 3 times in the Greek (LXX) Old Testament (Exodus 19:3, Exodus 24:18, and Exodus 34:4) and all 3 times are used to describe Moses climbing to Mount Sinai.
Jesus, who was the one who gave the law to Moses the ancient lawgiver on a mountain, is now here a mountain as the new and higher Moses is giving a higher law to His disciples, and by extension, us.
| Moses taught [lower law] | Jesus taught [higher law] |
| Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17) Whosever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement (this is not a known Old Testament teaching. Either Jesus is teaching from lost scripture or this is something that religious teachers of His day had added. | If you are angry you are in danger of the judgement [of God, of the Sanhedrin, of hell fire] (Matthew 5:21). Don’t just not kill but don’t have “murderous thoughts” as well towards others. |
| Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18) | Do not have lustful thought (Matthew 5:28, see also Doctrine and Covenants 63:16) |
| You can divorce for minor reasons (Deuteronomy 24:1) | Don’t divorce except for adultery (Matthew 5:32) |
| Don’t break oaths made in the name of God (Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2) | Say yes or no, don’t make oaths in God’s name or anything else. (Matthew 5:34-37) |
| “an eye for an eye” [justice] (Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21) | turn the other check [mercy] (Matthew 5:39, 42) |
| “love thing enemy” (Leviticus 19:18) “hate thine enemy” (this is not a known Old Testament teaching. Either Jesus is teaching from lost scripture or this is something that teachers of His day had added. Some point to Micah 3:2, but doesn’t seem to match) | Love your enemies, pray for them, and do good things for them (Matthew 5:43) |
Jesus, as the New and Higher Moses didn’t destroy the law that He gave to Moses, but rather “fulfilled” it for the reason the children of Israel had the Law of Moses was to point them to Christ. Paul taught that the “law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Galatians 3:24). Now that we have the higher law, let us each day try to love others as we want them to love us, be kind to everyone as we want them to be kind to us – in other words “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).
I mentioned earlier that the Savior only quoted the first half of Isaiah 61:2. The second half of the verse “and the day of vengeance of our God;” was not quoted and I believe that is because that is the 2nd Coming of Jesus, which we are still looking forward to.
Also in verse 1 “and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” was also fulfilled at this first coming of Jesus, but not mentioned during the Sermon on the Mount. But it was known to the early saints as mentioned in 1st Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6.
Jesus is the promised Messiah and as we follow His teachings we can come closer to God. It is only in and through His atonement that we can receive a remission of our sins and return and live with our God.
