In this new Kingdom of Heaven, what are the standards of crime and punishment? Of law and order?
One of the problems church people have with Jesus’s radically simplified law code is that it seems ready-made for people to take advantage of. We can see the need for mercy and forgiveness, but only for those who seem to be on the right path.
In Matthew 5:48, 6:12, 14–15, and 18:21–35 Jesus gives us a wake up call about his limits.