If we could be made perfect and acceptable to God by keeping the laws of Moses, don’t you think that Jesus could have stayed in heaven and avoided the cross?  But instead of the laws of Moses being our escape from hell, it seems they are the nails in the lid of our coffin instead. Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” So was Jesus saying He didn’t care much for the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees? That might be a matter of debate. After all, they made long prayers in public places to put on a show and look righteous. But they did strive to observe even the smallest of laws of Moses, down to the tithing even of leaves mint and anise and cumin. However, Jesus said they omitted the weightier matters of the law, which is judgment, mercy and faith. This they ought to have done and not left the other undone. These same people you could say almost lived in church. They were indeed zealous to keep the law.

 
But they weren’t willing to walk in love. They would pray long prayers, then, Jesus said, they would devour widow’s houses, to their own damnation. So is the law worthless? Jesus didn’t say the law was worthless. He didn’t come to destroy the law, but to do what no one else before him had ever done. He came to fulfill the law. He came to fill it up, in other words, to satisfy all it’s requirements and to leave nothing lacking or undone, down to the tiniest dot. Now there’s a big difference in me taking an empty glass and filling it up so full that it can’t hold any more, and me taking that same empty glass and destroying it. What is so hard about discerning that?

Yet, so many people believe Jesus came to do away with the law entirely. They say, “where there is no law, there is no sin.” That’s like saying if there isn’t a law against murder, then it’s ok. Jesus himself said He didn’t come to destroy the law. And the law of God can be boiled down to just two, according to Jesus. What are they? Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, this is the first commandment. And the second is like; namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Instead of having several hundred laws to remember and obey, Jesus made it simple. Most everyone can remember two. Of course, remembering and doing them are two different matters entirely.
 I can remember them. The problem is, I find myself somehow falling far short of doing them. Oh, I agree, the law is good. It calls for such a noble thing. The problem then, is not with the law, but with the ability to obey it. .
Why is it then so hard to love God and to love mankind? It boils down to a love problem. Lots of people have no problem loving themselves. They want everything they want, and if it differs from what you want, then……tough! Because their love goes no further than themselves. They love only the “Big 3”; Me, Myself, and I. But their love doesn’t extend beyond their own desires and needs.

And then there are the type of people who have such a low opinion of themselves, that they have no love at all for themselves. For one reason or another, those people have been told they have no worth, no purpose for being here, and they have nothing that anyone else would find good in them. Those people can’t love themselves, far less be expected to love anyone else. Neither one of these people truly know what love is. So how can they truly love God, or anyone else? They cant. We have no way within us to fulfill the laws of God on our own. Can’t be done. Only Jesus was able to fulfill those laws because it wasn’t that He could love, but that He is love. Jesus could deal mercy to the sinner because He was the embodiment of Love. He could have mercy on Judas, who betrayed Him, because He was Love. He could have mercy on the woman caught in adultery because He was Love.
And if we ask Jesus into our heart, He brings Love with Him, for He is Love. By filling our vessel, which is by nature empty of love, we are then equipped to do something we have heretofore been unable to do: we can keep the two laws that Jesus commanded us to keep, that is to love God, and to love our fellow man. The Scribes and Pharisees had the written laws of Moses in their hearts and minds. But Jesus said that alone couldn’t get them into the kingdom of heaven. They lacked love, both for God, and for each other. That’s why Jesus said,“Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus came to give you the “Excess”. He came to give you more than you’ll ever need to enter the kingdom of heaven. He came to give you…….HIMSELF!

Will you invite Him in?