The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 5 Part 11 God's Law About A Bird's Nest Has A Purpose

Christ fulfilled and upheld all the provisions in God's moral law. 

Matthew 5:17-18  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18)  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

We previously discussed the implication of Jesus statement that He came to fulfill the law of God in every detail.

We also noted that the Old Testament priesthood has been replaced with Jesus Christ being our eternal high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 

Thus, Christ satisfied every righteous demand of the law on our behalf, so that He could give eternal life to all who hear the gospel and believe on Him.

We saw that the moral law of God is an absolute, unchanging moral standard from God that His children are to seek to obey.

It is important to note this truth because some churches and governments are endorsing sinful acts that God clearly prohibits.

For example, Leviticus 18:1-30 spells out sexual behavior that God forbids. Pornography, beastiality and other forms of perversion. 

God's moral law condemns sexual perversion in all its forms.

Leviticus 18:22,23  Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23)  Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 

Perverse sexual activity is clearly condemned by God in His law. When Christ fulfilled the entire law, He upheld God's commands about sexual perversion. 

This means that God's moral law remains the standard of judgment. 

This is why God buried Sodom and Gomorrah under an avalanche of fiery brimstone (See Genesis 19).

The moral law of God regarding sexual perversion is also found in many other scriptures (See Leviticus 20:13; Judges 19:22; 1 Kings 14:24; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 1:7).

Those who teach children to break any of God's commands will be judged. 

Matthew 5:19-20  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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. 

This text applies to parents, pastors and governments.

If a pastor, parent or a society teaches their child to break one of God's commandments, they will be judged for doing this.

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments" directly refers to the precepts of the law which are broken when men act contrary to them.

This is a sobering statement from Jesus.  

Church leaders who explain away or reason around the plain truth of the scriptures, shall have no place in the kingdom of Christ. 

Those who teach that all the law of God is binding and should be obeyed, shall be considered great in Christ's kingdom. 

Jesus taught us that all the law of God is binding on Christians. (See James 2:10).

This means that all the commands of God should be preached and lived out by pastors, parents and church leaders.

All those who say there are some laws of God so small that they need not obey them, are unworthy of His kingdom.  

Living right before God and man comes from each Christian having respect for all the commandments of God. (See Psalm 119:6).

As you probably know, Jesus faced great opposition from scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Jesus began exposing their false religious system by shining the light from the scriptures upon corrupt teaching. 

Jesus means that unless the multitude He addressed had more holiness of character than the scribes and Pharisees, they could not be saved.

A great sin was that the scribes and Pharisees taught that some parts of God's law did not need to be obeyed.

Scribes and Pharisees dismissed God's law of a bird's nest as insignificant.

Deuteronomy 22:6-7  If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: 7)  But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

Jesus will give many more examples of corrupt teaching whereby traditions of man are elevated to a higher place than "Thus saith the LORD."

This is one specific example where scribes and Pharisees said that a command of God did not need to be obeyed.

God commanded that a bird's nest on the ground or in a tree must not be violated. 

A man must not remove any of the eggs, or the female bird or her young offspring.

Jewish teachers thought little of this command, yet God tells us that obeying this command brings blessing and prolongs our days.

Why does God care about bird nests?

This law ensures that the animals can successfully reproduce and not go extinct. 

However, God is always aiming at our heart and this law is meant to cultivate a compassion in our heart for all living things. 

Ultimately, teaching us to care for animals also teaches us to have compassion for all humanity.

Proverbs 12:10  A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 

God is always right. 

The FBI has warned that there is a strong connection of those who are cruel to animals later committing violent crimes against people.

The following is a quote from an article published in 2021 titled "The Link Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence"

"Historically, animal cruelty has been considered an isolated issue, but recent research shows a well-documented link that it is a predictive or co-occurring crime with violence against humans (including intimate partners, children, and elders) and is associated with other types of violent offenses. Increased awareness of this linkage and a collaborative approach to these investigations strengthens the identification and reduction of such crimes."

Thus, God knows what is best for us and His law about the bird nests can be applied to all animals.

As Solomon wrote, a righteous man will always take proper care of his own animals, and those whom he encounters in nature.

Thus, Jesus taught us that all the commands of God are good and holy and right, and that it is good for us to keep them.

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 

It is not an accident that the New Testament contains more than 1,400 direct quotes and strong allusions from the Old Testament.

We must keep both Testaments connected for God designed His book as an organic whole.

Therefore, Paul tells us that the Old Testament scriptures which includes God's law, was written for our instruction so that we patiently live in humble obedience to God's Word.

This gives us hope and strengthens our faith when we face hard times.

Jesus has set the authority of the scriptures as the foundation for His teaching and we will see our Lord continue to expose wrong teaching.

Let us ask the Lord to help us see the beauty of His moral law, and we must lean upon the indwelling Spirit of God for the strength to obey what He says to us.

Bob