Scripture Scribbles: February 15, 2026
the Gospel
Matthew 5:17-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you,
whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment;
and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,'
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
and whoever says, 'You fool,'
will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful -
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
"Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'
Anything more is from the evil one."
the scribble
The road that leads to heaven is risky, lonely, and costly in this world, and few are willing to pay the price. Following Jesus involves losing your life-and finding new life in him.
— David Platt
Today’s gospel warns us about self-righteousness, killing, adultery, and dishonesty.
This is one of the devotions I’ve had the hardest time writing in my life so far. I feel that it’s not because of its length but because its weight. HEAVY! Somehow, it feels like it is directly addressed to me because I am a sinner and am bound to commit the sins that Jesus mentioned in the gospel.
Hence, this quote by David Platt caught my attention. It is a good reminder that entering the kingdom of God is not a piece of cake. Not a piece of cake is an understatement. Perhaps this will do: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man/for sinners to enter the kingdom of God. I’m not sure if this can come close to any analogy about the road going to heaven but I must agree with Mr. Platt.
Our supposedly end goal, which is to be with God someday, involves risks and loneliness and is VERY costly. Therefore, it is not surprising that only very few people are willing to pay the price of paradise.
The risks could mean losing everything we have. The loneliness could mean losing everyone we love, even those who are not close to us, but respect us. Very costly could mean this: after losing everything and everyone, we still need to continue living for and serving Jesus Christ and endure all the hardships that these would entail, until our last breath. What a life.
I can’t imagine living this kind of life. Can you? Why does being a Christian have to be so difficult? Wait! There’s more. The Sunday gospel didn’t mention all the commandments in the Bible yet. In today’s reading, Jesus specifically focused on self-righteousness, killing, adultery, and dishonesty.
Do we sometimes have the tendency to feel superior to others because we think (or at least we would like to) that their sins are too severe? Do we judge the prostitutes, con artists, corrupt officials, criminals, etc. because we didn’t do what they did? This is self-righteousness.
The second one that Jesus mentioned was killing. This is not just literally but also figuratively. Spreading misinformation against, bad-mouthing, and exposing someone using any medium, with the motive to ruin a person’s reputation is a form of assassination.
Then, there’s infidelity or adultery. We can be disloyal in other ways as well. For as long as we start neglecting and deceiving the person we vowed to love or start loving someone or something else, this is already infidelity.
Lastly, dishonesty. Lies come in so many forms. Telling lies and hiding the truth are both wrong. Exaggerating and downplaying an issue, a problem, a solution, or any information, are both kinds of falsehood.
Why does being a Christian have to be so difficult? Fortunately for us, God gave us plenty of means to fortify ourselves. Constant prayer, the Holy Spirit, the church, and humility and atonement for our sins, are some of them. May we always keep them in mind and seek for more. Amen.
Today’s devotion was written by Edwina Yu
