Does Jesus Have It All Wrong?

Little Johnny was very upset with his brother, Willy. Before he said his night prayers, Johnny’s mother said to him, “Now I want you to forgive your brother.” But Johnny was not in a forgiving mood. “No, I won’t forgive him,” he said. Mother tried persuasions of every motherly variety, but nothing worked. Finally, she said, “What if your brother were to die tonight? How would you feel if you knew you hadn’t forgiven him?” Johnny gave in — or so it seemed. “All right, I forgive him,” he said, “but if he’s alive in the morning, I’ll get even with him for what he did to me.”

In His introduction to the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus says, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets … I have come not to abolish but to complete them” (Mt. 5:17).

In the Law, God had given His People an enormous capacity for good. Now, Jesus comes in…